What Every Methodist 
Should Know 


i 

i 


BY 

George R. Stuart 

i 


E. B . CHAPPELL 
Editor 


Nashville, Tenn. 

Dallas, Tex.; Richmond, Va. 
Publishing House of the M. £. Church, South 
Lamar & Barton, Agents 
1923 


: 












What Every Methodist 
Should Know 


bv 

George R. Stuart 


E, B. CHAPPELL 
Editor 


Nashville, Tenn. 

Dallas, Tex.; Richmond, Va. 
Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South 
Lamar & Barton, Agents 
1923 




.St«) 


Copyright, 1922 

BY 

Lamar & Barton 


( < 



i. 


APR 2 4 *23 

C1A705081 


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FOREWORD 

For many years the author has felt the need in his 
pastorate of a book briefly setting forth the things con¬ 
cerning the Methodist Church which every Methodist 
ought to know. He has searched through the publications 
of the Methodist Church, North and South, and has failed 
to find such a compendium. He has found many excellent 
books carrying parts of the information needed, but none 
of them covers the whole field. The doctrines and polity of 
the Methodist Church have been so well stated that it 
would be impossible to improve the statements by an 
attempt to vary them in such a way as to make them one’s 
own. The author, therefore, desiring only to be helpful 
to the Church, has quoted freely the statements of others. 
The book, in fact, is more a compilation of authoritative 
statements of others than the work of the author. The 
liberal quotations are made and properly acknowledged 
from the Discipline, the “ Methodist Armor,” “The Mem¬ 
bership Manual,”“When We Join the Church,” “Stand¬ 
ard Catechism,” “Fundamental Doctrines of Methodism,” 
“Things Methodists Believe,” and “The Law of God on 
Tithes and Offerings.” 

The book has been prepared with a hope that it may be 
made a kind of textbook in the various organizations of the 
Methodist Church to bring our Methodist people into a 
knowledge of what all intelligent Methodists ought to 
know and thereby increase their interest in and zeal for the 
Methodist Church. George R. Stuart. 

( 3 ) 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Editor’s Preface. 7 

Chapter I 

The Church. 9 

Chapter II 

Organization: The Conference. 18 

Chapter III 

Church Organization: Boards. 23 

Chapter IV 

Church Organization: Church Officers. 35 

Chapter V 

The Methodist Ministry. 42 

Chapter VI 

Financing the Church. 48 

Chapter VII 

What Methodists Believe. 56 

Chapter VIII 

Distinctive Doctrines of Methodism. 63 

Chapter IX 

Outstanding Doctrines of Methodism. 71 

Chapter X 

What Methodists Believe about the Sacraments. 79 

(5) 













6 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


Chapter XI Page 

Church Schools. 85 

Chapter XII 

Methodist Publications. 91 

Chapter XIII 

Closing Suggestions. 97 





EDITOR’S PREFACE 

When George Stuart showed the manuscript of this 
little book to the Sunday School Editor, it occurred to the 
Editor that it might meet a distinct demand, which had 
been growing for years, for a brief course of lessons for 
Sunday school classes dealing with the history, organiza¬ 
tion, doctrines, and usages of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South. Such use of the material, however, would 
necessitate a certain amount of rearrangement and some 
additional paragraphs, since for obvious reasons special 
Sunday school courses are arranged in thirteen lessons to 
cover a full quarter’s work. Brother Stuart readily agreed 
to the plan, and placed his material entirely at the dis¬ 
posal of the Sunday School Editor. The actual work of 
revision fell to the lot of the undersigned. It is only fair to 
Brother Stuart to say that in making thirteen chapters of 
approximately equal length some of his material has been 
moved from one chapter to another, some additions have 
been written for several of the chapters, and all of Chapter 
XI has been added. Those who know the racy style of 
George R. Stuart will promptly recognize these editorial 
interpolations. 

This little book is true to its title, and the Sunday 
School Editors bespeak for it a wide circulation and careful 
study by hundreds of Sunday school classes. 

E. Hightower, 

Associate Sunday School Editor. 

( 7 ) 


My friend, you have joined the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South. You have made it the Church of your 
choice and your place of worship. The fact that you have 
joined the Church is evidence that you are interested in 
your own religious life and that of others. 

This book has been placed in your hands to give you 
specific information in regard to the Church of your choice 
and the duties and responsibilities which you yourself 
have assumed. Q, r. 5 . 

( 8 ) 



What Every Methodist Should 
Know 

CHAPTER I 
The Church 

Worship among the Patriarchs 

In the very infancy of the human race the worship of 
God was instituted (Gen. iv. 26), but there is no history 
of worship in detail until the days of the patriarchs— 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Israel, and their descendants. 
Their history is found in the first five books of the Bible. 
These patriarchs worshiped God as individuals, families, 
and tribes. They had no churches or temples, set 
forms or ceremonies. On account of famine in their own 
country, this worshiping family was providentially led 
into Egypt and there became slaves in a rich heathen 
monarchy. In this servitude they developed into a 
mighty race. God led them out of slavery, out of Egypt 
into Canaan, a land which he had promised to Abraham, 
their forefather. He selected Moses, one of the honorable 
sons of the family whom he had providentially trained, to 
lead them forth. While encamped in the wilderness at the 
foot of Mount Sinai, God called Moses to the top of the 
mountain, delivered unto him a code of moral laws, specific 
directions for an earthly tabernacle, a form of worship, 
and a series of offerings and ceremonies, according to which 
Moses organized the Church and set up worship in the 
tabernacle in the wilderness. This worship was continued 
until the nation was established in the land of promise. A 
permanent temple was finally built at Jerusalem, and the 
Jewish Church centered and worshiped there until the 
coming of Christ. The Old Testament is devoted chiefly to 
the history of this Jewish Church. 


( 9 ) 


10 What Every Methodist Should Know 

The Church of Christ 

When Christ came into the world he called about him a 
group of disciples and delivered unto them the teachings of 
the gospel. After his death and resurrection one hundred 
and twenty whom he organized and taught met in an upper 
room in Jerusalem, according to his direction, and tarried 
until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. When the 
Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples they went down into the 
streets of Jerusalem and preached the gospel to the anxious, 
listening throng. Thousands were converted. They 
formed themselves into an organization and began to teach 
and practice the doctrines of Jesus. They did not with¬ 
draw from the Jewish Church. Evidently the Jewish 
Church with certain modification became the model of the 
Christian Church. 

Christ did not command his disciples to form a new 
Church. Mr. Wesley says: “It is true that there is not on 
record one single line or word from Jesus which prescribes 
a new Church as distinct from the Jewish Church. He 
lived in the Jewish Church himself. . . . Nor did his 

disciples understand that they were to step out of it and 
fashion another one. They, all of them, for more than 
twenty-five years lived in communion with the Jewish 
Church. Forty years after the ascension of their Master 
they . . . were a Christian brotherhood only as a 

party in the original Jewish Church. It would seem to be 
the height of historical phantasy, therefore, to declare that 
the Christian Church was outlined and prescribed by the 
Lord Jesus Christ, understood to be so by his apostles, 
and taught by them to be so. A greater mistake can scarce 
be imagined.” 

They remained in the Church and observed its ordi¬ 
nances and rules, at the same time holding separate meet¬ 
ings of their own, over and above those of the Church. 
And so the early disciples still adhered to the temple 
services, though they had social and spiritual meetings of 
their own besides, till the Roman army destroyed the city, 
and the temple with it. Then they were forced to organ- 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


11 


ize some other form and they modeled their future organ¬ 
ization mainly after the pattern of the synagogue. There 
is no specific form of Church government to be found any¬ 
where in the New Testament. Nevertheless, there was a 
Church. There were religious institutions. They were 
accepted. They were implied. And the moment the 
apostles began to preach outside of Judea, where there was 
no temple, and where there were no synagogues, they were 
organized, they were officered; and there came to be laws 
and methods and usages, and the apostles Commanded 
them, interpreted them, and ranked them. This was 
known as the “Christian Church.” This Church had a 
history of conflict through the centuries. 

Rise of Protestant Christianity 

In the sixteenth century the Christian Church centered 
at Rome and was called the Roman Catholic Church, or the 
Roman Universal Church. “This Church claimed to be 
the vicegerent of Christ on earth; that the grace of God is 
ministered through this Church alone by its pope or priest.” 
Martin Luther, a native of Germany, was ordained a priest 
in this Church. Seeing the selfish ambition of the leaders 
of the Church and being convinced of the error of its 
doctrines, he raised a protest against the wickedness and 
errors of the Roman Catholic Church and started what is 
historically known as the Great Reformation of the six¬ 
teenth century. This Reformation was the beginning of a 
new era in the Christian Church, and out of it originated 
what is known as the Protestant Christian Church. 

The Wesleys 

This Protestant Church has since divided into various 
denominations—Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and 
others. One of the branches of the Protestant Church 
adopted an episcopal form of government, became the 
recognized Church of England, was called the Anglican 
Church, and was supported by the government. The 
father of John and Charles Wesley was a clergyman in the 


12 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


Church of England, and their mother was a devout mem¬ 
ber. The sons were sent to Oxford University, and while 
there John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and 
other students formed a religious band for prayer and study 
of the Scriptures. This little college group was so regular 
and systematic in Bible study and devotion that they were 
called “Methodists” in derision. After leaving Oxford 
University, these consecrated men began to preach. They 
were so earnest and reproved sin so sharply that they were 
forbidden the use of Anglican churches. However, they 
remained members of the Established Church and con¬ 
tinued their preaching in the open air and organized their 
converts into groups called “Societies.” This is almost an 
exact analogy of the relation the lonely Christian Church 
sustained to the Jewish Church. 

The Rise of Methodism 

The first Methodist Society was organized in Bristol, 
England, in 1739. The first building called a Methodist 
Church in England was what was known as the old 
Foundry Church in London. This has been termed the 
“cradle of Methodism.” It was in this church that Mr. 
Wesley called the first “Methodist Conference.” This 
new movement grew so rapidly and offered so many oppor¬ 
tunities that Mr. Wesley found need of “advice respecting 
the best method of carrying on the work of God.” He, 
therefore, invited the clergymen and lay preachers who 
were in sympathy with his movement to meet him in the 
old Foundry Church for a conference. This conference 
decided several important questions. It opposed secession 
from the Church of England and agreed to obey the bishop 
“in all things indifferent; and on this ground of obeying 
them to obey the canons as far as possible with a safe con¬ 
science.” 

After determining their relations to the Church of 
England, they settled two other questions: “What shall 
we teach?” and “What shall we do?” They decided to 
confine themselves to the doctrines relating directly to 


What Every Methodist Should Know 13 

personal religion, without which one cannot be saved. The 
Conference, therefore, carefully defined repentance, faith, 
justification, sanctification, and the witness of the Spirit. 
All their doctrinal discussions were confined to these five 
points and these five points have continued to this day in 
Methodism as her specific doctrines. 

General Rules and Articles of Religion 

At this first Conference they also approved what are 
known as the “ General Rules,” which have been preserved 
substantially as then adopted. Later, John Wesley took 
the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith of the Established 
Church of England, reduced them to twenty-five, and they 
were adopted as the Methodist “Articles of Religion.” 
These twenty-five Articles of Religion remain unchanged, 
and changeable only through process of constitutional 
amendment. The first limitation of the General Confer¬ 
ence is: “The General Conference shall not revoke, alter, 
or change our ‘Articles of Religion.’” 

Foundation of Methodism 

This first Conference established the plan on which 
Methodism has since proceeded. They decided that their 
work was not at that time to organize a distinct ecclesias¬ 
tical body; that they should remain in the Established 
Church and continue to lead men to Christ; to organize sin¬ 
cere believers into societies; to teach them to do practical 
Christian work and to leave the future to Providential 
guidance. They decided to emphasize first the fundamen¬ 
tal doctrines of repentance, faith, justification, sanctifica¬ 
tion, and the witness of the Spirit; second, “to transact 
business in a free and open conference, and in every 
practical point so far as it can be done without wounding 
conscience, each would cheerfully submit to the decision 
of the majority”; third, “that they would develop the 
organization through these Conferences for efficiency and 
service as God himself might direct”; and thus Method¬ 
ism from the first Conference to this day has been a 
providential development. 


14 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


Methodism in America 

John Wesley came to America as a missionary to the 
American Indians but did not stay long. Later, other 
ministers and members of his societies came and organ¬ 
ized Methodist Societies in America. The first Methodist 
Societies in America were organized in New York and 
Maryland about 1766 by Philip Embury and Robert 
Strawbridge. The former organized a congregation in his 
own home in New York. The latter established a society 
at Sams Creek, Frederick County, Md. These societies 
were considered a part of the Anglican Church up to the 
Revolutionary War. After the Revolutionary War, Mr. 
Wesley decided that there should be organized in America 
an independent Methodist Episcopal Church. Accord¬ 
ingly, in 1784 he ordained and sent over from England 
Thomas Coke as general superintendent of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church in America. Thomas Coke ordained 
Francis Asbury at the first General Conference, which met 
in Baltimore in 1784, and these two, the first bishops of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church took charge of the Amer¬ 
ican work. The inhabited part of America was divided up 
into sections called “circuits,” and the preachers went on 
horseback to the various preaching places. The preachers 
were called “circuit riders.” The “circuit riders” moved 
West with the population. The work grew rapidly. In 
1784 there were 15,000 Methodists in America; in 1800 
there were 65,000. 

A Divided Methodism 

In 1844, when all sections of America were agitated over 
the abolition of the slavery of the negro, the General 
Conference convened in New York City. Bishop Andrew, 
one of the leading bishops of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in America, had become connected by marriage 
with slavery. After a long and heated discussion in the 
General Conference, a resolution was passed requesting 
Bishop Andrew to act no longer as bishop “so long as 
this impediment remains.” This resolution caused a 
division in the Church. A plan of friendly separation 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


15 


was adopted by which the Conferences in the slaveholding 
territory became the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
and the other Conferences the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church, South 

The following year, 1845, a convention of the Southern 
Conferences was held in Louisville, Ky., and the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, was organized. The doctrines 
of both branches of the Methodist Church have remained 
practically the same. Other branches of Methodism 
have arisen also. 

Younger members of our Church are frequently occa¬ 
sioned some concern by reason of the fact that since and 
pursuant to the division of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
in the United States (General Conference, 1844) the 
Southern branch of the Church has been known as the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, while the Northern 
branch, for reasons best known to itself, retained the name, 
Methodist Episcopal Church, the implication being to 
those without definite knowledge of the facts in the case 
that the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, separated 
itself from the original Church and became merely a branch 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Any question as to 
the relation of the two branches of Methodism to the 
mother Church would seem to have long since been set at 
rest by the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United 
States in the case of William A. Smith, et als., vs. Leroy 
Swormstedt, et als., decided in 1853 and reported in the 
published opinions of that court in 16 Howard, page 288, 
14 Law Edition, page 942. This case involved the relative 
interests of the two Churches in an institution known as 
the Book Concern, founded by the Church, whose capital 
at the time of the suit in question amounted to nearly 
a million dollars. The contention of the Northern branch 
of the Church was that the property belonged to “the 
mother Church,” that the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, had separated itself from “the mother Church” and 
was, therefore, entitled to no interest in the property.. It 


16 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


is fair to assume that in a suit of this, magnitude the able 
and adroit lawyers who handled the case, with the assist¬ 
ance of those familiar with every detail of fact, presented 
to the court every scintilla of proof bearing upon the ques¬ 
tion, upon consideration of all of which the Supreme Court 
of the United States in a lengthy and able opinion of Jus¬ 
tice Nelson determined the issues in favor of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South. An excerpt from this opinion 
may, therefore, be of interest to the reader: 

“In the year 1844 the traveling preachers in General 
Conference assembled, for causes which it is not important 
particularly to refer to, agree upon a plan for a division 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in case the Annual Con¬ 
ferences in the slaveholding States should deem it neces¬ 
sary; and to the erection of two separate and distinct 
ecclesiastical organizations. And according to this plan, 
it was agreed that all the societies, stations, and Confer¬ 
ences adhering to the Church, South, by a majority of their 
respective members, should remain under the pastoral care 
of that Church; and all of these several bodies adhering, 
by a majority of its members, to the Church, North, 
should remain under the pastoral care of that Church; 
and further, that the ministers, local and traveling, should, 
as they might prefer, attach themselves, without blame, 
to the Church, North or South. The division of the 
Church as originally constituted thus became complete; 
and from this time two separate and distinct organizations 
have taken the place of the one previously existing.” 

Your Duty 

It is hoped that this brief sketch of the history of the 
Church will awaken your interest and that you will read 
fuller histories of our great Church, which is divided into 
several different families—all the branches having practi¬ 
cally the same doctrine, with only slight differences in 
Church polity. The Methodist Church is the largest 
frotestant Church in the world, and comprises in the 
membership of all the branches approximately ten million 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


17 


members. You have become a part of an enormous army 
of Christian workers and have accordingly assumed obliga¬ 
tions and responsibilities which it is hoped you will fully 
meet. Your first duty is to inform yourself concerning 
your Church and your obligations. 

Questions on Chapter I 

1. Where does the history of worship on the earth begin? 

2. Briefly sketch the growth of the Hebrew nation. 

3. What was Christ’s relation to the Old Testament 
Church? 

4 . What was Wesley’s view of the relation between the 
Jewish and Christian Churches? 

5. What does our lesson say of the rise of Protestantism? 

6 . Sketch the origin and early life of the Wesleys. 

7. Sketch the rise of Methodism. 

8 . How did we get our Articles of Religion and General 
Rules? 

9. Sketch the rise of Methodism in America. 

10. What led to the formation of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South? 

11. Did Southern Methodists secede from the Methodist 
Episcopal Church? 

12. Why should a Methodist know the history and 
usages of his Church? 

2 



CHAPTER II 


Organization: The Conference 

The administrative work of the Methodist Church is 
conducted through Conferences and Boards. There are 
five Conferences whose composition and work are very 
briefly given below. 

1, The General Conference 

The General Conference is the supreme governing and 
the lawmaking body of the Church. It is composed of 
ministerial and lay delegates who are elected by the 
Annual Conferences. The clerical members of each Annual 
Conference elect one representative of their number for 
every forty-eight members of the body, and an equal 
number of lay delegates are elected by the lay members. 
The number of delegates a Conference is to elect is as¬ 
certained by adding the number of preachers in the Con¬ 
ference and the number of lay delegates together, and divid¬ 
ing the sum by forty-eight. The result shows the number 
of preachers a Conference is to elect to the General Confer¬ 
ence, and also the number of laymen. If in the division 
there is a remainder of not less than thirty-two, that 
fact entitles a Conference to two additional delegates. 
All elections are by ballot, without nomination, and it 
takes a majority of all the votes cast to elect. When 
an eligible person receives a majority of the votes cast 
on a given ballot, he or she is declared elected, and an¬ 
other ballot is taken for the number of delegates that 
remain to be elected. This process is continued until 
the Conference has all the delegates it has a right to elect, 
the laymen voting only for lay delegates and the preachers 
voting only for clerical delegates. 

The same process is followed in the election of delegates 
to the Annual Conference, and in the election of bishops 
( 18 ) 


What Every Methodist Should Know 19 

and connectional officers in the General Conference. In 
all General Conference elections both preachers and laymen 
are entitled to vote. 

The business of the General Conference is: To elect 
connectional officers and bishops; to create and adjust the 
boundaries of the Annual Conferences; to revise the laws 
and rules of the Discipline; and to superintend the inter¬ 
ests of all the Boards of the Church. The General Con¬ 
ference has full power to make rules and regulations for 
our Church under the following limitations and restrictions: 
“The General Conference is not to revoke, alter, or change 
our Articles of Religion; or alter any part or rule of our 
government so as to do away the episcopacy or destroy the 
plan of our itinerant general superintendency; or change the 
general rules or do away the privileges of our preachers or 
laymen of trial by a committee and of an appeal; or 
appropriate the produce of the Publishing House to any 
purpose other than for the benefit of the traveling, super¬ 
numerary, superannuated, and worn-out preachers, their 
wives, widows, and children.” The General Conference 
meets once every four years, its sessions lasting about three 
weeks. It is presided over by the bishops, each one pre¬ 
siding in turn a day at a time, beginning with the senior 
bishop. 

2. The Annual Conference 

The Annual Conference is composed of all the traveling 
preachers in full connection with it and eight lay repre¬ 
sentatives (one of whom may be a local preacher) from 
each presiding elder’s district. It is presided over by one 
of the bishops, or in his absence the Conference must elect 
a president by ballot. The lay members are elected 
annually by the District Conferences. They participate 
in all the business of the Conference except such as involves 
ministerial character. The bishops appoint the time of 
holding the Annual Conference, but each Annual Confer¬ 
ence determines the place of its own sitting. 

The principal items of business of the Annual Confer¬ 
ence are to receive from each presiding elder and pastor 


/ 


20 What Every Methodist Should Know 

a report of his year’s work; to admit candidates into the 
Conference; to inquire into the life and administration of 
each preacher; to try any who may be accused of immorality 
or false doctrine; to examine and elect candidates for 
deacons’ and elders’ orders; to examine and promote the 
work of missions, Sunday schools, education, Epworth 
Leagues, Church extension and publishing interests; 
to support all superannuates within the boundaries of the 
Conference, and in general to promote the interests of the 
Church in any legal way that its judgment may approve. 

There are fifty-two Annual Conferences in the Method¬ 
ist Episcopal Church, South, including missions in foreign 
lands, and all are organized on the same plan and governed 
by the same laws, regardless of size. 

3. The District Conference 

The District Conference is held annually in each pre¬ 
siding elder’s district. It is composed of all the traveling 
and local preachers within the bounds of the district, the 
district lay leader, the charge lay leader, and a certain 
number of laymen from each pastoral charge, which 
number is fixed by each Annual Conference. The presiding 
elder is the president, unless a bishop be present. 

It is the duty of this Conference to inquire into the spir¬ 
itual condition of each pastoral charge, its collections for 
Church purposes; the condition of Sunday schools and Ep¬ 
worth Leagues; the educational enterprises, and, in fact, 
all the temporal and spiritual affairs of the Church, sub¬ 
ject to the provisions of the Discipline; also to license proper 
persons to preach and renew their licenses annually. 

At this Conference eight lay delegates (one of whom may 
be a local preacher) are elected to the ensuing Annual Con¬ 
ference. 

4. The Quarterly Conference 

The Quarterly Conference is held four times a year for 
the purpose of transacting the business of each pastoral 
charge. It is composed of the preacher in charge, the local 
preachers, exhorters, stewards, trustees, class leaders, 


What Every Methodist Should Know 21 

superintendents of Sunday schools, secretaries of the 
Church Conferences, the presidents of the Women’s 
Missionary Society, of Senior Leagues, the lay leaders and 
the chairmen of Evangelistic and Social Service Com¬ 
mittees. The presiding elder is president of the Quarterly 
Conference, and appoints the time of holding it. In his 
absence the pastor presides. 

This Conference looks into the spiritual and temporal 
affairs of the Church; elects trustees and stewards, super¬ 
intendents of Sunday schools, other prescribed officers, and 
the delegates to the District Conference; licenses persons to 
exhort, and recommends persons to the District Confer¬ 
ence for license to preach. 

5. The Church Conference 

The Church Conference is a meeting held in each pastoral 
charge, “once a month, or on circuits at least every three 
months.” The pastor is president of the meeting. It is a 
mass meeting of that particular Church to lay before the 
congregation the report of the pastor, the class leaders, 
superintendent of Sunday school, and the stewards in 
reference to the work of each. It also inquires into what is 
being done for the relief of the poor, cause of missions, 
circulation of religious literature, and all the other 
interests of the charge. 

For a fuller description of each of these Conferences see our 
Book of Discipline. 

Questions on Chapter II 

1 . How is the administrative work of the Methodist 
Church carried on? 

2. Name the different kinds of Conferences. 

3. When does the General Conference meet? 

4. Who compose the General Conference? 

5. What are its duties? 

6 . Who decides upon the number and boundaries of 
Annual Conferences? 

7. What are the duties of the Annual Conference? 


22 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


8 . In what Annual Conference do you live? 

9. How often does a District Conference meet? 

10. Who are members of a District Conference? 

11. How are the lay delegates elected to membership? 

12. What is the work of a District Conference? 

13. What is the relation between a Quarterly Conference 
and a pastoral charge? 

14. Who are members of a Quarterly Conference? 

15. What are some of its functions? 

16. Who are members of the Church Conference? 

17. Who presides at its meetings? 

18. What are some of its duties? 


CHAPTER III 

Church Organization: Boards 

The general interests of the Methodist Church are con¬ 
ducted and supervised by groups of men and women called 
boards. Each department of Church work has a separate 
and distinct board. 

The American foreign missionary movement had its 
birth in 1806. Like Methodism, it was born in a group 
of consecrated, praying college students. Five college 
students who had taken refuge from a shower under a 
haystack at Williamstown, Mass., after a short prayer 
service fell to discussing the millions of heathen in India, 
China, Africa and other countries who had never heard 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the close of their discussion 
they had another season of prayer, entreating God to 
use them to bear the gospel light into those dark regions. 
A few years later four of the five volunteered as mission¬ 
aries. They offered themselves to the Congregational 
Church and were accepted and sent to various foreign 
mission fields. A Board was organized to supervise their 
work and raise funds for their support. It was called the 
American Board of Foreign Missions. This first mis¬ 
sionary society in America became an inspiration and a 
model for others. Missionary societies were organized 
in various Methodist Churches, which were later consol¬ 
idated into a Board of Missions. 

The General Board of Missions .—All the connectional 
missionary operations of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, are administered by the Board of Missions. This 
Board carries on its work under three departments: 
Foreign Mission Work, Home Mission Work, and Woman’s 
Work. The members of the Board are a President, Vice 
President, two Administrative Secretaries for the General 
Foreign Work, two for the General Home Work, and four 
for the Woman’s Work; one or more Secretaries for Home 

(23) 


24 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


Cultivation for each department, a Candidate Secretary 
for each department; a treasurer for the general depart¬ 
ment; a treasurer for Woman’s Work; thirty-eight Mana¬ 
gers, one from each Annual Conference in the United States, 
of whom twelve shall be preachers; twenty-six lay members, 
of whom fourteen shall be women; the effective bishops; 
five members at large; the Secretary of the Board of Church 
Extension; the Secretary of the Board of Lay Activities; 
the President of the Woman’s Missionary Council; the 
Sunday School Editor; the General Secretary of the Ep- 
worth League Board; the Editor of the Christian Advo¬ 
cate. This board is elected by each General Conference 
in the following manner: “The President, Vice President 
and thirty-eight Managers . . . on nomination of the Com¬ 
mittee on Missions. . . . The five members at large shall be 
elected by the General Conference on nomination of the Com¬ 
mittee on Missions, and shall be chosen for their fitness and 
proximity to the headquarters of the Board. The Admin¬ 
istrative Secretaries, both men and women, shall be elect¬ 
ed by ballot by the General Conference at the time of 
the election of other connectional officers. The Home 
Cultivation and Candidate Secretaries and Treasurers 
shall be elected quadrennially by the incoming Board, 
the woman on nomination of the Woman’s Missionary Coun¬ 
cil, and the men on nomination of the department in which 
they shall work.” (See Discipline of 1922, paragraph 
472.) 

It is the business of the Board of Missions “to appropri¬ 
ate money to pay current expenses; to establish missions; 
to build churches and residences for missionaries, and to 
build and maintain hospitals, schools, and social settle¬ 
ments; to select and publish books and other suitable 
material for its work at home and abroad; to aid in the 
establishment of training schools for Christian workers, 
for native converts and preachers, and to cooperate with 
other Churches in the establishment and support of such 
schools whenever practicable; to make provision for the 
missionary education of the Church; to provide for the 
support of superannuated missionaries and widows and 


What Every Methodist Should Know 25 

orphans of missionaries who may not be provided for by any 
Annual Conference; to provide funds and to appropriate 
them for all the work under its care.” (See Discipline, 
paragraph 474.) 

Administrative Work. —The Department of Woman’s 
Work has charge of all work both in the home and foreign 
fields that is primarily in the interests of women and 
children. The deaconess work of the Church is under the 
control of the Department of Woman’s Work. A deacon¬ 
ess must be an unmarried woman or widow, over twenty- 
three and under fifty years of age at the time she enters 
the service, must be a member of the Methodist Church, 
and must have completed a course of training in “an ac¬ 
credited Bible-Training School.” The Department of 
Foreign Missions administers all the foreign work except 
that under the Woman’s Department, and the Depart¬ 
ment of Home Missions has the same relation to all home 
mission work, except such as is under the control of Annual 
Conference Boards of Missions. 

The Woman’s Missionary Council. —This is a delegated 
body, composed of a President, one or more Vice Presi¬ 
dents, two or more Secretaries, the Treasurer of Woman’s 
Work, Superintendents of Bureaus, a Corresponding 
Secretary or alternate, the President, or alternate, of the 
Woman’s Missionary Society of each Annual Conference 
Society, and the President and Secretary of the Deacon¬ 
ess Workers’ Conference. The membership includes also 
“the Secretaries of the Board of Missions, both men and 
women, the Treasurer for Woman’s Work of the Board, 
the General Secretary of the Epworth League, the women 
members of the Board of Missions, and ten women elected 
at large by the Council.” (Discipline, paragraph 501.) 
The Council holds annual meetings “to hear reports from 
the fields, Home and Foreign, and from the societies, to 
consider fields, lines of work, the various enterprises, and 
the amounts needed for them; to make recommendations 
to the Board of Missions, through the Committee on 
Estimates, to be considered with other estimates of the 
Board for final determination; and to consecrate the 


26 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


women who have been accepted for service. It shall make 
recommendations to the Board of Missions for the employ¬ 
ment and support of deaconesses.” (See Discipline, 
paragraph 502.) 

Committee on Evangelism. —The Board of Missions has 
authority to indorse or employ evangelists, to recommend 
their appointment by the presiding bishop, and to direct 
their labors. The Annual Conference Board of Missions 
is clothed with similar authority for its own Conference. 

Conference Boards. —Each Annual Conference elects 
quadrennially an Annual Conference Board of Missions 
which is auxiliary to the General Board and consists of one 
layman from each presiding elder’s district and an equal 
numbe'r of clerical members. The Conference Lay Leader 
is a member ex officio. This Board has charge of all the 
mission work in the bounds of the Annual Conference 
except such as is under direct control of the General Board 
of Missions. It regulates its own proceedings, subject to 
the approval of the Annual Conference. 

Boards of Church Extension 

General Board. —The General Board of Church Extension 
consists of a president, vice president, secretary, and 
treasurer, and twenty Managers, elected quadrennially by 
the General Conference. All the bishops and the first 
Secretary elected for Foreigh Missions and the first Secre¬ 
tary elected for Home Missions are ex-officio members of this 
Board. The Board is chartered by the legislature of 
Kentucky, and the general office is in Louisville, Ky. It 
operates under rules and regulations prescribed by the 
General Conference, not contrary to its charter nor in 
excess of the powers that may be thereunder lawfully 
exercised. 

The Board has authority to determine the amount the 
Church shall be asked to raise by collections for the use of 
the Board during the ensuing year; to determine the 
amount to be donated or loaned to each applicant for 
purchase or securing of church lots and the erection or 
securing of church buildings and parsonages. The Board 


What Every Methodist Should Know 27 

also has authority to raise and administer a Loan Fund 
which shall be held separate from the funds raised for 
general distribution and shall be used only in loans on 
adequate security to be determined by the Board. The 
Board is authorized also to receive and hold in trust for 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, any real or per¬ 
sonal property and to sell and convey the same for the uses 
and objects under prescribed rules. The Secretary of the 
Board conducts its correspondence. 

Conference , District , and City Boards .—Each Annual 
Conference elects quadrenially a Conference Board of 
Church Extension, composed of one layman for each dis¬ 
trict and an equal number of clerical members, which shall 
be auxiliary to the General Board and shall have charge of 
all the interests and work of Church extension within its 
Annual Conference. Provision is also made for the organi¬ 
zation of a district Board of Church Extension and a city 
Board of Church Extension to consider and promote 
Church extension work in any presiding elder’s district or 
in any city having three or more pastoral charges of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Any Annual Con¬ 
ference Board, City Board, or District Board of Church 
Extension may with the consent of the Annual Confer¬ 
ence and the bishop in charge employ a secretary to give 
all or a part of his time to the interest of the Board in the 
territory represented by it. 

Boards of Education 

General Board .—The educational operations of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, are conducted under 
the Board of Education. This Board consists of twenty- 
seven members, elected quadrennially by the General Con¬ 
ference on nomination of the General Conference Com¬ 
mittee on Education. The Secretary of Education is the 
Corresponding Secretary of the Board and is elected by bal¬ 
lot by the General Conference at the time of the election of 
other connectional officers. As many as twelve laymen 
may be members; three bishops and the Secretary of 
Education must be members of the Board. 

The Board operates under the provisions of a charter 


28 What Every Methodist Should Know 

granted by the State of Tennessee and under such rules and 
regulations as may be prescribed by the General Conference 
in harmony with said charter. The general office is located 
in Nashville, Tenn. 

The Board elects from its own members a president, 
vice president, recording secretary, and treasurer. The 
Board of Education has authority to regulate its own 
proceedings; to report to the Commission on Budget its 
estimate of the amount that will be needed annually for 
the educational interests committed to the Board, and to 
divide the same, among the several Annual Conferences 
on the basis fixed by the Board of Apportionment. The 
Board has authority to increase both its endowment and 
loan funds. These must be held separate from funds raised 
for general distribution. The Board gathers, prepares, 
publishes, and distributes literature for the promotion of 
the cause of Christian education among our people. 

The Board of Education must conduct a Department 
of Life Service, “to secure recruits for the ministry and 
for other forms of Christian service” and “inspire candi¬ 
dates for the ministry and other forms of Christian service 
with high ideals of their work and stimulate them to 
thorough preparation.” The Board of Education is 
charged in general with the task of “promoting religious 
education in the homes of the people, in the institutions 
of the Church and in tax-supported and independent in¬ 
stitutions, including the public schools.” 

Conference Boards .—“It shall be the duty of each Annual 
Conference to organize within its bounds an Annual Con¬ 
ference Board of Education, which shall have special charge 
of all educational work within the Conference. . . . They 
shall conduct their work in harmony with the educational 
policy of the Church. . . . They shall cooperate with 

the General Board of Education in promoting both gen¬ 
eral and local educational interests.” (Discipline, para¬ 
graph 459.) 

Sunday School Boards 

General Board .—The General Sunday School Board 
is composed of three bishops, twelve traveling preachers, 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


29 


and twelve lay members. The Sunday School Editor and 
the General Sunday School Secretary are members ex 
officio. 

The Board has the oversight of the Sunday schools of 
the Church under such regulations as the General Con¬ 
ference may prescribe. It is the duty of the Board to or¬ 
ganize new Sunday schools; to contribute to the support of 
the needy schools; to educate the Church in all phases of 
Sunday school work by creating and distributing literature 
and holding Sunday school conferences and institutes; to 
supervise the work of all departments of the Sunday 
school; to make such provisions as it may deem best for 
directing and correlating the work of the departments; to 
determine standards of efficiency for Sunday schools and 
the Sunday school curriculum. In order to prepare our 
Sunday school officers and teachers for more effective work, 
the Board maintains a Department of Teacher-Training. 
A Superintendent of Training Work supervises the train¬ 
ing of teachers, officers, and leaders in Sunday school 
work, and organizes and supervises teacher-training 
schools. 

The Board also maintains a Department of Elementary 
Work, a Department of Intermediate-Senior Work, a 
Department of Young People’s and Adult Work, and a 
Department of School Administration. It is further 
authorized to elect such officers and employ such workers 
as its judgment as to the needs of the Sunday school 
work may dictate from time to time. 

The funds of the Board are derived from an assessment 
made by the General Conference and from such a percent¬ 
age of the missionary offerings made by the Sunday school 
as shall be agreed upon between the Sunday School Board 
and the Board of Missions. 

Conference Boards .—Each Annual Conference has a 
Sunday School Board composed of one layman from each 
district and an equal number of traveling preachers. This 
Board has general oversight of the Sunday school interests 
of its Conference and works in cooperation with the General 
Sunday School Board. 


30 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


Epworth League Boards 

The management of the Epworth League is vested in a 
Board of seventeen members, seven clerical and seven lay 
members elected by the General Conference on nomination of 
the General Conference Committee on Epworth Leagues, 
and a president who shall be one of the bishops designated 
by the College of Bishops, a General Secretary who is 
elected by ballot by the General Conference, and the Home 
Cultivation Secretary of the Board. 

In connection with the Publishing Agents, the Board 
arranges for the publication of a general organ called the 
Epworth Era, edited by the General Secretary, and the 
publication and distribution of other literature approved 
by the Publishing Agents. The Board determines what 
courses and books shall be adopted for the local societies, 
provides constitutions for Intermediate and Junior Chap¬ 
ters, and promotes their organization and furnishes litera¬ 
ture in connection with its work in the Senior Epworth 
Leagues. 

Conference Board. —Each Annual Conference shall 
elect quadrennially an Epworth League Board composed of 
one minister and one layman for each presiding elder’s 
district; provided, that no Board shall have fewer than six 
members. The Board shall give special attention to 
Epworth Leagues within the bounds of the Conference 
and shall cooperate with the Central Office and the other 
League organizations within the Conference territory. 

“The Epworth Leagues of the Annual Conference may be 
organized into a Conference Epworth League. The object 
of the general Epworth League and the Annual Conference 
Leagues will be to organize the young people into the 
group Leagues, instruct and inspire its members and 
provide for religious and social programs, and train leaders 
for Christian work at home and for the mission fields at 
home and abroad.” 

Board of Managers of Tract and Evangelistic Literature 

“This Board consists of five members: One of the Pub¬ 
lishing Agents, the Book Editor, the Home Mission Secre- 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


31 


tary, and two ministers appointed by the bishops. It 
is charged with the duty of supplying and distributing 
throughout the Annual Conferences a suitable supply of 
tracts on the doctrine, history, polity, and evangelistic 
work of Methodism.” 

Boards of Finance 

The support of our worn-out preachers and the widows 
and children of deceased preachers is under the direction of 
a General and Conference Boards of Finance. 

The General Board of Finance— This Board consists of 
a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and twenty- 
one managers composed of three bishops, nine traveling 
preachers, and nine laymen, all elected by the General Con¬ 
ference on nomination of the Committee on Finance, except 
the Secretary, who is elected by ballot of the General 
Conference. This Board is incorporated under the laws 
of Missouri, with central office at St. Louis, Mo., and is sub¬ 
ject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by 
the General Conference not contrary to the charter. The 
Secretary is the executive officer of the Board and con¬ 
ducts the correspondence. 

Conference Boards. —Each Annual Conference has a 
Board of Finance, composed, like most Conference Boards, 
of one layman for each district and an equal number of 
preachers. The business of this Board is to look after 
the interests and needs of “Conference Claimants,” by 
which is meant superannuated preachers and the widows and 
dependent children of preachers who have died while mem¬ 
bers of the Conference. The Board makes an assessment 
at each Annual Conference session to meet the needs of 
the Conference claimants, which is apportioned like other 
Conference assessments to each pastoral charge, and at the 
end of the Conference year it distributes the proceeds 
from the assessment among the various claimants according 
to its best judgment as to the needs of each person. 

Board of Temperance and Social Service 

This is an Annual Conference Board, composed of one 
layman from each district, and an equal number of preach- 


32 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


ers. The Book of Discipline does not define its duties. 
(Discipline, paragraph 527.) 

Commission of Temperance and Social Service 

The General Conference elects s. Commission of Tem- 
perence and Social Service, composed of thirteen members, 
three traveling preachers and four laymen, nominated by 
the Committee on Temperance and Social Service, and 
the General Secretaries of the Sunday School Board, the 
Epworth League Board, Lay Activities, the Senior Secre¬ 
tary of Home Missions, and the Superintendent of the 
Bureau of Social Service of the Woman’s Department 
of the Board of Missions. It is the business of this Com¬ 
mission to lead in the temperance and social service work 
of the Church. 

Board of Trustees 

For the security and proper management of all bequests 
or devises made to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
a Board of Trustees for the whole Church has been incor¬ 
porated under the laws of Tennessee and located at Nash¬ 
ville, Tenn. This Board is composed of ten members, five 
ministers and five laymen, appointed by the General Con¬ 
ference on nomination of the Committee on Boundaries and 
Finance. The duty of this Board is to receive, collect, and 
hold in trust for the benefit of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South, any and all donations, bequests, devises, 
legacies, and grants of lands, personal estate, or funds that 
may be given or conveyed to said Board for the use of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or for any benevolent, 
religious, or charitable institutions, the same to be admin¬ 
istered by this Board of Trustees according to the direc- 
tions of the donor or testator. 

All persons wishing to make donations, devises, or be¬ 
quests for the uses and purposes of the Methodist Episco¬ 
pal Church, South, or any other charitable institutions 
connected therewith, should make said donations or devises 
or bequests directly to the Board of Trustees of the Method¬ 
ist Episcopal Church, South. This Board of Trustees 
renders a full, true, and faithful report to each quadren- 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


33 


nial session of the General Conference of the Meth¬ 
odist Episcopal Church, South, of its doings and of all 
funds, moneys, securities, or properties committed to its 
care. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is one of the 
best-organized, best-operated, and safest institutions for 
doing benevolent business in the world. If any member of 
the Methodist Church has accumulated money or property 
and has a desire to leave this money or property to be ad¬ 
ministered in the safest, best possible way for the good of 
humanity and for the specific purposes that he or she may 
desire, no better agency can be adopted than this carefully 
organized and thoroughly guarded Board of Trustees. 
Many cases have been known where Methodists have ex¬ 
pressed a desire to leave for the use of the Church certain 
accumulated funds but have delayed, and death, as usual 
unexpected, has placed the funds in the hands of those who 
have expended them quite contrary to the wishes of the 
original owner. Below is given a simple legal form which 
any one may easily fill out and forward to the Board of 
Trustees: 


FORM OF DEVISE BY WILL 

In the name of God, Amen. 

I,.. being of sound mind and memory, do 

constitute this my last will and testament: 

Item 1. I give and devise the following [here describe 
the property] to “.. the Board of Trus¬ 

tees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,” and to 
their successors in office, and its use to be controlled by said 
trustees for the use and benefit of [here state the benevo¬ 
lent object or purpose to which you wish the trustees to 
apply your property], to be thus applied by said trustees, 
under the direction of the General Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South; making only such 
disposition of said property as the General Conference 
shall judge best calculated to promote the objects of this 
bequest, as herein stated. 

I hereby appoint [insert the name or names] the execu¬ 
tors of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof, 
3 




34 What Every Methodist Should Know 

I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this .. 
day of . ..., 19. .. In the presence of ..... 


Witnesses. 

[Let there be three.] [Seal.] 


FORM OF A DEED OF GIFT 


State of . 

County of. 

Know all men by these presents, that I [write name] 
for and in consideration of the love I bear for the cause of 
Christ, and from an earnest desire to promote his heritage 
on earth, do give and grant, and by these presents convey 

unto “., the Board of Trustees of the 

Methodist Episcopal Church, South,” and to their succes¬ 
sors in office for the use and benefit of [state the particular 
object for which the gift is made], to be applied by the said 
trustees to the object herein stated, under the direction 
of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South. And the said trustees are to have and to 
hold the property aforesaid, for the use aforesaid, free 
from the claim or claims of myself, my heirs, my executors 
or administrators, and from the claims of all others what¬ 
soever. 


In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and 

seal, this.day of., 19. .. In the presence 

of.Witnesses. 

[Let three sign.] [Seal.] 


Questions on Chapter III 

1. What body elects the General Boards of the Church? 

2. How are the Conference Boards created? 

3. Who are members of the General Board of Missions? 
What Secretaries does it employ and what work does it do? 

4. Who are members of the Conference Board of Mis¬ 
sions? What is its field of work? 

5. Who are members of the General Board of Church 
Extension? What work does it do? 

6. Who are members of the Conference Board of Church 
Extension? 

7. How would you go about procuring assistance from 
one of these Boards for a church-building enterprise? 

8. What is the work of the General Board of Education? 
Uqw does it operate? 












CHAPTER IV 

Church Organization: Church Officers 
1. Bishops 

Bishops are constituted by the election of the General 
Conference and the laying on of the hands of three 
bishops, or at least one bishop and two elders. Their 
duties are: (1) To preside in the General and Annual 
Conferences; (2) to make the appointments of the preach¬ 
ers; (3) to form the districts, circuits, and stations; (4) to 
ordain bishops, elders, and deacons; (5) to decide questions 
of law; (6) to prescribe a course of study for young minis¬ 
ters; (7) to change preachers in the interval of Conferences 
whenever necessary; (8) to travel through the Episcopal 
District assigned to them and oversee the temporal and 
spiritual welfare of the whole Church. 

Methodist bishops have neither legislative nor voting 
power in the Conferences. They, according to our theory, 
are elders as to ministerial order, and episcopal as to the 
high office of the general superintendency. Bishops hold 
office for life. 

2. Itinerant Preachers 

An itinerant preacher is a member of an Annual Con¬ 
ference, or a preacher on trial, who is subject to appoint¬ 
ment by the bishop. A preacher on trial is a probationer, 
that is, a preacher who desires membership in an Annual 
Conference and is taking the required course of study and 
is subject to appointment by the bishop, but who has not 
yet been received into full connection. Preachers are 
received on trial by vote of the Annual Conference, after 
recommendation by a District Conference, and examina¬ 
tion by a Conference committee on the required course of 
study. A preacher must be on trial for at least two Con¬ 
ference years before he can be received into full connection. 

(35) 


36 What Every Methodist Should Know 

Two classes of members of an Annual Conference cannot 
properly be classed as itinerants. These are superannuated 
and supernumerary preachers. “A superannuated preach¬ 
er is one who is worn out in the itinerant service” (Disci¬ 
pline). The roll of superannuates is lovingly called the 
“honor roll” among Methodists. Superannuated preach¬ 
ers live where they please and do only such Church work 
as their own judgment and opportunity suggest. “A 
supernumerary preacher is one who is so disabled by 
affliction as to be unable to preach constantly, but who is 
willing to do any work in the ministry that the bishop 
may direct, and he is able to perform.” Some provision is 
made by the Church for the support of superannuates, 
but, usually, a supernumerary preacher is entirely depend¬ 
ent upon his own efforts for a living. 

(1 ) Presiding Elders .—The presiding elder is appointed 
by the bishop, and is put in charge of a district having not 
more than forty pastoral charges in it. 

The duties of the presiding elder are: (a) To travel 
through his district in order to preach and oversee the 
spiritual and temporal affairs of the Church; (b) to take 
charge of all the preachers in his district in the absence of 
the bishop; (c) to change, receive, and suspend preachers 
in his district during the intervals of the Conferences, and 
in the absence of the bishop, as the Discipline directs; (d) 
to hold four Quarterly Conferences in each pastoral charge 
during the year; (e) to decide all questions of law which 
may come up in the regular business of the Quarterly Con¬ 
ference; (f) to see that every part of the Discipline is en¬ 
forced in his district, etc.; (g) if any preacher dies or leaves 
his work, the presiding elder, as far as possible, fills his 
place with another; (h) he is ex-officio president of the 
District Conference in the absence of the bishop. 

One of the most important functions of the presiding 
eldership is the relation it holds to the bishop in making 
the appointments of the preachers. Every appointment 
must be made with a thorough knowledge of the qualifica¬ 
tions of the preacher appointed and the demands of the 


What Every Methodist Should Know 37 

work to which he is appointed; and the bishop can get 
such knowledge only through the presiding elders. The 
presiding elders, then, must see and hear for the bishop, 
and speak for the people and the preachers, in the matter of 
appointments. As they have traveled through all the field, 
and watched carefully the work of each pastor and the 
needs of each charge, they are admirably well prepared to 
represent the wants of the people and the claims and 
adaptation of the preachers; so their advice becomes essen¬ 
tial to the bishop in order that hi.s appointments may be 
judiciously made, and the appointments must be read to 
the presiding elders before being announced to the Con¬ 
ference. A presiding elder cannot serve the same district 
more than four years in succession. 

(2) Pastors .—The preacher in charge of work is cne 
who has the pastoral care of a station, circuit, or mission, 
by the appointment of the regularly constituted authority 
of the Church. He may be an elder, deacon, or an unor¬ 
dained preacher on trial, or a local preacher employed by 
the presiding elder, or appointed by the bishop. His 
duties are: (a) To preach; (b) to receive, try, and expel 
members convicted of immorality; (c) to appoint class 
leaders; (d) to see that the sacraments are duly observed; 
(e) to hold Quarterly Conferences in the absence of the pre¬ 
siding elder; (f) to report to the Quarterly Conference the 
general condition of his work; (g) to promote all benevolent 
collections of the Church; (h) to report the number and 
state of the Sunday schools. A pastor cannot serve the 
same charge longer than four years except on approval of 
a majority of the presiding elders expressed by ballot. 

(3) Other Itinerants .—The Book of Discipline provides 
for a number of “General and Conference officers,” some 
elective and some appointive, and these are usually filled 
by traveling preachers. Some of these officers are elected 
by the General Conference, others by General Boards, 
others by Annual Conference Boards; still others by such 
organizations as the Anti-Saloon League, and the Y M. C. 
A.; others are appointed by the national government to 


I 




38 What Every Methodist Should Knou) 

posts as army chaplains; others are elected by boards of 
college trustees and like institutions to serve as professors 
or agents; but in all such cases the preacher is appointed to 
his office each year by the bishop, and in the case of Confer¬ 
ence officers the bishop can act only with the consent of the 
Conference. A special appointment in no way changes a 
preacher’s relation to the ministry or to his Conference. 
To speak of such preachers as “retired ministers” is to 
miss the mark. 


3. Local Preachers 

Local preachers are constituted by the authority of the 
District Conference, and are amenable to that body. They 
must come before that body properly recommended by a 
Quarterly Conference. Such applicants are licensed to 
preach when, on examination, the Conference is satisfied 
of their “gifts, graces, and usefulness.” They sometimes 
begin as exhorters, graduate to the local ministry, and 
thence into the itinerancy. A local preacher is not subject 
to appointment by the bishop except with his own consent. 

Lay Officers of the Church 

There is nothing in the law of the Methodist Church to 
keep a layman from being elected to any connectional 
office in the Church, and in fact such offices have some¬ 
times been filled by laymen. For example, our Discipline 
specifies that one of the two Book Agents shall be a lay¬ 
man. The General Conference would have the power to 
select any officer that it has to elect from among the laity. 
As we noted in Chapter II, half the members of the Gen¬ 
eral Conference are laymen; a considerable minority of 
each Annual Conference are laymen; a large majority of 
the District Conference are laymen; and, with the excep¬ 
tion of the pastor, it frequently occurs that the Quarterly 
and Church Conferences are composed of laymen alto¬ 
gether. When it comes to the local Church, as a rule its 
offices are all filled by the laity. 


What Every Methodist Should Know 39 

1. In the Annual Conference 

Each Annual Conference has a Board of Lay Activities 
and a Conference Lay Leader. The Conference Lay 
Leader is Chairman of this Board, which is made up of 
“District Lay Leaders and Associate District Lay Leaders 
from each presiding elder’s district. ... It shall be the 
duty of the Board to consider, promote, and execute plans 
for larger activities of laymen in all the work of the An¬ 
nual Conference and to cooperate with all the other Con¬ 
ference Boards in executing their plans for larger service 
in the work of the*Church.” (See Discipline, paragraph 
544.) 

On some Annual Conference Boards, as the Board of 
Missions and the Sunday School Board, the law of 
the Church requires that there be an equal number of 
laymen and preachers, while on other boards, as the 
Board of Education, it is customary to elect laymen to 
membership as well as preachers. Any Annual Conference 
Board, such as the Sunday School Board, Board of Mis¬ 
sions, Board of Church Extension, Board of Education, 
may employ laymen or women as field workers. The Con¬ 
ference Lay Leader is elected by the Annual Conference 
at each session. 

2. In the Congregation 

The officers of the local Church, which make up the 
official board, or the Quarterly Conference, are “all 
traveling and local preachers, including superannuated 
preachers residing within the circuit or station (whether 
without or within the limits of the Annual Conference to 
which they belong), with the exhorters, stewards, trustees 
who are members of the Church, and class leaders . . . to¬ 
gether with the superintendents of Sunday schools who 
are members of the Church, the secretaries of Church Con¬ 
ferences, the presidents of Senior Epworth Leagues, the 
charge Lay Leader, the Church Lay Leaders, the Chairman 
of the Evangelistic Committee, the Chairman of the Social 
Service Committee, the President of the Woman’s Mission¬ 
ary Society, and none others.” 


40 What Every Methodist Should Know 

Exhorters .—“An exhorter is one licensed by the Quarter¬ 
ly Conference to read scripture lessons and make a practical 
application of their truths to the public congregation. 
Exhorters are not expected to select a text and preach a 
regular sermon. Their service is confined to singing, prayer, 
and public exhortation. License to exhort must be given 
and annually renewed by the Quarterly Conference, to 
which body the exhorters are responsible for their official 
conduct/’ 

Stewards .—“Stewards are elected by the Quarterly 
Conference. Their business is (1) to attend to the financial 
interest of the charge; (2) to advise and confer with the 
pastor as to the general management of the work.” 

Trustees .—“All Church property—such as meeting¬ 
houses, parsonages, cemeteries—held according to the 
Discipline, is vested in a board of trustees, who hold it in 
trust for the use of the members of the Methodist Episco¬ 
pal Church, South.” “These churches are held for the 
sacred purpose of divine worship, and are to be closed 
against all political or secular meetings. The trustees 
are elected by the Quarterly Conference, and are respon¬ 
sible to the same.” 

Superintendents of Sunday Schools .—The Quarterly 
Conference elects superintendents of Sunday schools on 
the nomination of the preacher in charge and assistant su¬ 
perintendents on nomination of the superintendent. 

President of Senior Epworth League .—This officer is 
elected by the Epworth League, but must be comfirmed 
by the Quarterly Conference. 

Church Conference Secretaries .—Each Church should 
hold a Church Conference very early in the Conference 
year and elect a Secretary. All such Secretaries are mem¬ 
bers of the Quarterly Conference. Their work is to keep 
a correct register of Church members and the minutes -of 
the Church Conferences. 

Lay Leaders— The fourth Quarterly Conference of each 
pastoral charge elects a Lay Leader for the charge, and 
where a charge has more than one Church a Lay Leader is 
elected also for each Church. It is the duty of these Lay 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


41 


Leaders to lead the evangelistic and other lay activities of 
the Church. Lay Leaders may become sources of great 
power in the work of the Church. 

Chairman of the Evangelistic Committee. —It is the duty 
of the first Quarterly Conference of each Conference year 
to elect an Evangelistic Committee, and the chairman of 
that Committee becomes a member of the Quarterly Con¬ 
ference. 

Chairman of the Social Service Committee. —The Social 
Service Committee is chosen in the same manner as the 
Evanglistic Committee, and its chairman also has mem¬ 
bership in the Quarterly Conference. 

Questions on Chapter IV 

1. Mention some offices in the Methodist Church that 
are held by preachers. 

2. How are bishops chosen? How long do they hold 
office? 

3. Name some duties of bishops. 

4. What is an itinerant preacher? 

5. How are presiding elders chosen? What are some of 
their duties? 

6. What is a preacher in charge? How is he appointed? 
Name some of his duties? 

7. Name some other offices to which itinerants may be 
appointed. 

8. What is a local preacher? How may a member become 
a local preacher? 

9. What general offices in the Church may be held by a 
layman? 

10. What Annual Conference offices may a layman hold? 

11. What offices are usually filled by laymen in the local 
Church? 

12. What are the duties of a steward? A trustee? A 
Sunday school superintendent? 

13. What are the duties of an exhorter? 

14. The duties of the President of an Epworth League? 

15. Of a lay leader? 

16. Who constitute the official Board of a Church? 


CHAPTER V 
The Methodist Ministry 

In these lessons words are used in their most usual sense. 
This is no place for drawing fine distinctions. There has 
been not a little discussion, for instance, as to whether 
the episcopacy as we have it is an “order” or an “office.” 
That discussion has turned on whether the New Testament 
gives three orders in the ministry, or only two; whether 
there were deacons, elders, and bishops, or whether the 
office of bishop was simply one to which an elder was 
assigned or elected. In the sense of ordination there are 
three orders in the Methodist Church: deacons, elders, 
and bishops—for a man is inducted into either order by the 
laying on of hands. But there is this difference: We 
“ordain” deacons and elders and “consecrate” bishops. 
This is done, not because there is any specific command in 
the New Testament on the subject, but to safeguard our 
ministry against the ignorant and those who are unsound in 
doctrine or life, and to give the Church a fair chance to 
vouch for the character and ability of those whom it sends 
to the people as pastors, or shepherds. But the practice of 
ordination has ample warrant in both the letters and the 
example of the first apostles, and it is a custom that is 
almost universal among Christian denominations. Accord¬ 
ing to their ministerial standing, there are in the Meth¬ 
odist Church four classes, grades, or ranks of preachers:— 
licentiates, deacons, elders, and bishops. 

1. Licentiates 

A licentiate is a man who has been granted authority 
by a District Conference to preach. His license carries 
no authority to administer the sacraments or perform the 
marriage service, but a licentiate who is a pastor may 
perform marriage and administer baptism in his own 
(42) 


What Every Methodist Should Know 43 

pastoral charge. Before a man can be granted a license to 
preach he must be recommended to the Quarterly Confer¬ 
ence of the charge where he holds Church membership, 
must pass an approved examination on a course of study 
prescribed by the bishops, and must satisfy the District 
Conference that he is in other respects a proper person to 
trust with such authority. Each District Conference also 
elects a Licensing Committee of six or four, which may act 
in emergencies between the session of the District Con¬ 
ference and the next Annual Conference. For example: 
If a young man wished to enter an Annual Conference, 
but had not been licensed by the District Conference, the 
presiding elder could call together the Licensing Committee 
and it could grant him a license to preach and recom¬ 
mend him for admission on trial. In the case of a 
local preacher, a license holds good only until the next 
District Conference. A license must be renewed from 
year to year until its holder is ordained deacon, when his 
orders confer permanent authority to preach and admin¬ 
ister baptism and perform the marriage service, whether 
he is a local or traveling preacher. 

2. Deacons 

In order to become a deacon, a preacher must preach 
two years, if an itinerant, or four years as a local preacher. 
A traveling preacher must pass an approved examination 
on the prescribed course of study, be recommended by the 
Examining Committee, and be elected to the office by the 
Annual Conference, after which he is ordained by a 
bishop. There are some exceptions to this rule in favor 
of chaplains in the army and foreign missionaries. 

Before a local preacher can become a deacon, he must 
preach not less than four years, pass an approved examina¬ 
tion by a District Conference Committee on the prescribed 
course of study, and be recommended by the District Con¬ 
ference. After that his case takes the same course as that 
of a traveling preacher. A preacher holding or entitled to 
deacon’s orders, and having been on trial for two years. 


44 


What Every Methodist Should KnoiC 


may be admitted into full connection in the Annual Con¬ 
ference, and when so admitted he is entitled to take part in 
all its proceedings. 

A deacon may perform all the offices of the ministry, 
except administering the Lord’s Supper, and assist in the 
ordination of other preachers. He may assist with the 
Lord’s Supper. 


3. Elders 

Refure a poacher is eligible for elder’s orders, he must 
have been a deacon not less than two years if a traveling 
preacher, and not less than four years if a local preacher. 
In either case, a deacon obtains elder’s orders by substan¬ 
tially the same process that was followed for deacon’s 
orders. 

An elder is eligible to appointment as presiding elder, 
and to do all the work of the ministry except the ordination 
of other preachers, and he may assist a bishop in the ordi¬ 
nation of elders. 

4 . Bishops 

A bishop is elected by ballot by the General Conference 
and consecrated to the office “by the laying on of the 
hands of three bishops, or at least of one bishop and two 
elders.” The number of bishops to be chosen is deter¬ 
mined by each General Conference. Bishops hold office 
for life, or during good behavior; and let it be said to the 
credit of the bishops that not one of them has ever been 
expelled from office. 

The Itinerancy 

“A marked peculiarity of Methodism is the itinerancy 
of her ministry. It is a simple and easy plan of shifting the 
ministers from one field of labor to another. It requires 
three things: 

“1. That the congregations give up their right to choose 
their pastors. 

“2. That the ministers surrender their right to select 
their own field of labor. 


What Every Methodist Should Know 45 

“3. That the appointment be referred to a competent, 
impartial, untrammeled, but responsible authority ar¬ 
ranged by the law of the Church. 

“Both the people and ministers, however, are at liberty 
to make known their peculiar condition, wishes, and cir¬ 
cumstances to the appointing power. And thus, under 
this elastic system, all parties have their own choice, when 
it is clear that the good of the work will be served. While 
the bishops have the sole authority of making the appoint¬ 
ments, yet they always do so under the advice of the pre¬ 
siding elders. 

“The peculiar advantages of the system are that it keeps 
all the Churches constantly supplied with pastors. The 
weak and poor Churches are as regularly supplied as rich 
ones. Though such Churches be out of the way, and able 
to pay but little, yet they always have a pastor. Conse¬ 
quently, we never have what is so frequently found in 
otherdenominations—viz., vacant churches. No effective 
preacher in this system is ever found without a pastoral 
charge.” (H. T. Hudson, in “Methodist Armor.”) 

The Work of a Bishop 

A bishop has charge of a certain number of Annual Con¬ 
ferences. The bishops meet in the spring of the year and 
divide the Conferences among themselves. The law of the 
Church lays down no plan for doing this, but the custom 
is to have a committee of three, in rotation, who fix the 
assignments of all the bishops except those who on account 
of age of infirmity are no longer on the effective list. It 
is the duty of a bishop to travel through the Conference 
that he has in charge and to exercise the closest possible 
oversight of all the interests of the Church in those Con¬ 
ferences. He must preside at the Annual Conference, 
select the presiding elders, fix the number of districts and 
their boundaries, decide how the pastoral charges shall be 
formed, appoint the preachers to their work, ordain the 
deacons and elders, decide questions of law, and attend to 
numerous other general and special duties pertaining to the 


46 What Every Methodist Should Know 

office. All the bishops are members of the Boards of 
Missions and Church Extension, and some of them are 
members of various other General Boards. The bishop 
who meets half the demands that the office makes upon 
him will always be “in labors abundant.” Methodist 
bishops are not, and cannot be, “autocrats,” as is some¬ 
times charged, because their duties and authority are care¬ 
fully defined in the Book of Discipline, and they are an¬ 
swerable to the General Conference for the proper dis¬ 
charge of their responsibilities. 

Work of a Presiding Elder 

In administrative affairs the presiding elder is a sort of 
personal representative of the bishop during the latter’s 
absence from his district. He must be appointed annually 
and cannot be allowed to serve the same district more than 
four years in succession. He must “travel through his 
district to preach and oversee the spiritual and temporal 
affairs of the Church.” During the Annual Conference 
session the presiding elders sit with the bishop in what is 
known as the “ cabinet meeting,” to give the bishop such 
information as he may desire in arranging the pastoral 
charges and districts and assigning the preachers. 

Duties of Pastors 

In our Book of Discipline the pastor is known as the 
preacher in charge.” The title originated in the old days 
when most of the work was made up of large circuits with 
a number of “Societies,” or Churches, in each, and several 
preachers were assigned to one circuit. One preacher was 
put in charge of the rest, and was made responsible to 
the bishop and the Annual Conference for the work in that 
circuit. Junior preachers, or assistant pastors, are still 
sometimes appointed, and the pastor is still loaded with 
large and varied responsibilities, hence the title “preacher 
in charge” is still appropriate. The Book of Discipline 
sets down twenty-one duties for the preacher in charge, and 
others not “nominated in the bond” come up with each 


What Every Methodist Should Know 47 

passing day. The faithful pastor is a very busy and bur¬ 
dened man. 

Questions on Chapter V 

1. What is the difference between an “order” and an 
“office” in the Church? 

2. How many ranks, or grades, of preachers are there in 
the Methodist Church? 

3 . How may a man obtain authority to preach in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South? 

4 . What is a newly licensed preacher called? 

5 . How long must a preacher hold a license before he 
can be ordained, if a traveling preacher? If a local preach¬ 
er? 

6 . What tests must a preacher meet before ordination? 

7. What authority does ordination confer upon a deacon? 
May a preacher exercise this authority under any circum¬ 
stances before ordination? If so, when? 

8 . How does a preacher become an elder in thte Church? 
What new authority is conferred by elder’s orders? 

9 . How is a bishop chosen? How is he set apart for his 
work? How long does he hold office? 


CHAPTER VI 


Financing the Church 

The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, but the 
Church is an organization for the purpose of extending the 
kingdom; and if it is to do its work there must be money 
for the support of those who give all their time to the 
Church, for the expense of those who travel, and for the 
building and upkeep of churches and such other buildings 
as are necessary for the Church to perform its providential 
services to the world. 

Under the Mosaic dispensation the Jews were required 
to deliver one-tenth of their increase, especially of their 
fields and flocks and herds. This tenth was devoted to the 
support o£ the tribe of Levi for two reasons: First, the 
Levites did not share in the division of the land; only small 
cities were allotted to them as homes. Second, they were 
“set apart” as priests to minister at God’s altar. They 
gave themselves wholly to spiritual things and were en¬ 
titled to a living. This was God’s will and commandment. 
Only when Israel was in a backslidden condition were the 
tithes neglected. None but the Levites shared in the tithe. 
They kept up the worship, in the tabernacle, then in the 
temple. At no time until we reach the New Testament do 
we read of a collection for the support of the Church or its 
dependents. The tithe supplied all that was necessary. 

Besides paying in the tenth, many Jews, more religiously 
inclined than ordinary, made freewill offerings. The tither 
discharged a legal obligation which one might do with but 
little or no thankfulness. The freewill offering was an ex¬ 
pression of overflowing gratitude. It is sometimes ex¬ 
hibited by tithing Christians. A little girl on receiving her 
allowance, ten pennies a week, put one penny away with 
her Church money. “Now,” she said, “I must give some¬ 
thing,” and put aside another penny. “Why, daughter^* 
( 48 ) 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


49 


said her mother, “you have paid your tenth.” “Yes, I 
know, but that wasn’t mine; it belonged to God. The 
other penny was mine, and I am giving it to the Lord.” 
Could one’s sense of gratitude to God be better expressed? 

Many Christians believe that with the coming of the 
gospel the Mosaic ordinances, except such as enjoined the 
observance of moral principles, were “done away,” the 
tithe law included. They believe that the financing of the 
Church was placed on a better and a broader basis— 
namely, that as every man belongs to God, soul, body, and 
estate, and is God’s steward, the whole of his income must 
be consecrated to God and used to his glory. According to 
this view, there are many cases in which the Christian in 
order to meet his obligations to the Church must give much 
more than a tenth of his income, and the cases are probably 
exceptional when one should give less. In all cases, how¬ 
ever, the amount to be contributed is not a matter of hard 
and fast rule but a matter to be determined by an en¬ 
lightened Christian conscience. 

The Christian cannot do better than to follow St. Paul’s 
rule: “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you 
lay by him as God has prospered him.” “But this I say: 
he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he 
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 
Every man as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; 
not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful 
giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward 
you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, 
may abound to every good work.” 

If all Christians would follow this rule, the Church 
would never lack funds for the carrying on of its work. 

Boards of Lay Activities 6 

General Board .—The General Conference of 1922 created 
a Board of Lay Activities, which has charge of “all dis¬ 
tinctive activities of laymen in the work of the Church.” 
This Board is composed of all the Conference Lay Leaders 
of the Church, and the General Secretaries of all the Gen- 

4 


50 What Every Methodist Should Know 

eral Conference Boards are consulting members. The 
main purpose of this Board is to increase the interest of 
the laity and give them a larger place in the work of the 
Church. It promotes the organization of groups of men 
in each congregation. 

Conference Board .—Each Annual Conference also has 
a Board of Lay Activities, consisting of the Conference 
Lay Leader, who is Chairman of this Board, the District 
Lay Leaders and Associate District Lay Leaders within 
the Conference. The Conference Lay Leader is elected 
by the Annual Conference on nomination of the Conference 
Board of Lay Activities. The duties of this Board in its 
own Conference are similar to those of the General Board 
of Lay Activities for the entire Church. 

Commission on Budget 

General Commission .—The General Conference of 1922 
created a Commission on Budget, for both the entire 
Church and for each Annual Conference. The General 
Commission on Budget is composed of the General Secre¬ 
taries of all the connectional Boards that have charge 
of interests for which assessments are made and “one 
Publishing Agent, six ministers and six lay members, 
none of whom shall be members of any connectional 
Board, to be elected by the General Conference.” (See 
Discipline, 1922, paragraph 355.) Each Board is entitled to 
one vote in the Commission. After making careful inquiry 
“regarding all the general interests of the Church, that 
none may be neglected or jeopardized,” the Commission 
“shall recommend to the General Conference, for its ac¬ 
tion and determination, the total amount to be assessed 
for all these connectional interests.” The amount agreed 
upon by the General Conference “shall be apportioned 
to the several Annual Conferences by the Commission 
on Budget, according to such plan as the General Confer¬ 
ence may adopt.” When the apportionment thus made 
gets to the Annual Conference it is “distributed to the 
several districts as the Conference or Mission may decide,” 
and the district stewards shall “distribute to the pastoral 


What Every Methodist Should Know 51 

charges the amounts asked of their respective districts.” 
This is the way we get our “assessments,” to which each 
member is expected to contribute at least a year. The 
Commission fixes the per cent of the amount secured 
from the assessment that shall go to each General Board. 
The following assessments are fixed by this Commission: 
Foreign Missions, Home Missions, Church Extension, 
Education, American Bible Society, Bishops, General 
Conference Expenses, Sunday Schools, Epworth Leagues, 
and any other interest which may be indorsed by the 
General Conference. 

Conference Commission on Budget .—Each Annual Con¬ 
ference has a Commission on Budget, composed of five 
preachers and five laymen and the chairmen of the Con¬ 
ference Boards. This Commission serves the same purpose 
in the Annual Conference that the General Commission 
serves for the entire Church. 

Board of Apportionment 

This Board is composed of the Secretary of the College 
of Bishops, the Secretary of the Board of Church Exten¬ 
sion, the Secretary of the Board of Education, and the 
Book Editor. It meets in the month of June following 
each session of the General Conference and fixes the ratio 
on which the general Budget shall be divided among the 
Annual Conferences. Two calculations are made: One 
based on the number of members in each Annual Confer¬ 
ence and another on the amount contributed in each 
Conference during the preceding four years for the sup¬ 
port of pastors and presiding elders. The two results 
are then added together, and the average thus obtained 
is used in apportioning assessments to that Conference. 

The Support of the Ministry 

The business of each pastoral charge is in the hands of 
the Quarterly Conference, and the support of the ministry is 
in the hands of the Board of Stewards. This Board is 
elected at the fourth Quarterly Conference, on nomination 
of the pastor. A Quarterly Conference has the right to 


52 What Every Methodist Should Know 

vote down a nomination made by the pastor, in which 
case he has the right to nominate another. 

Every one who offers himself for any kind of minis¬ 
try or service in the Methodist Church surrenders the 
right to select any particular work or demand any partic¬ 
ular salary. The question of where he shall work and the 
remuneration of the work is left to the authorities of the 
Church delegated to attend to such matters. 

Bishops .—The salary of the bishops is uniform and is 
estimated by the General Conference Committee on Epis¬ 
copacy. The amount so estimated is reported to the 
Commission on Budget, which fixes the Bishops’ Fund at 
such a percentage of the total apportionment to be asked of 
the Church for all general interests as may be necessary to 
secure the amount needed. Each Conference treasurer 
is required to send monthly to the Publishing Agents, 
who are Treasurers of the Bishops’ Fund, the amount that 
is prorated to that fund, and to the widows and chil¬ 
dren of deceased bishops the amount collected, in pro¬ 
portion to the amount estimated for their support, and 
take receipts for the same. At the Annual Meeting of the 
Bishops the Publishing Agents report in writing the 
amount paid to them by the several Annual Conferences 
on the Bishops’ Fund and their disbursement of the same.” 

Presiding Elder .—“ The salary and traveling expenses of 
the presiding elders shall be estimated by the district 
stewards.” 

Pastors .—“The salary and traveling expenses of preach¬ 
ers on circuits and stations shall be estimated by their 
respective Boards of Stewards, after consultation with the 
preacher in charge.” “ The stewards shall report to each 
Church meeting the whole amount to be raised and that 
part of it which each congregation is expected to pay. The 
Church Conference may adopt its own method of raising 
the money. Each member of the Church is expected to pay 
according to his or her several ability for the support of 
the ministry, and the stewards of each station or circuit 
shall determine whether payments are to be made weekly, 


What Every Methodist Should Know 53 

monthly, or quarterly, during the year. They shall then 
ascertain how much each member is able and willing to pay 
in the installments fixed by the stewards; and whatever 
amount each member agrees to pay, he or she shall be un¬ 
der solemn obligation to pay, and can only be released from 
this obligation by the order of the stewards, or by vote of 
the Church Conference for good cause shown.” 

How Other Itinerants Are Supported 

“Every minister who by the rules of the Church is a 
claimant on its funds shall have his claim estimated, as 
far as practicable, by those who are to pay it, or by an 
agent authorized to act for them,” (Discipline, paragraph 
251.) The salaries of Connectional Officers, such as the 
Book Editor, Sunday School Editor and others who are paid 
by the Publishing House, are fixed by the Book Committee, 
elected by the General Conference, or by the Book Agents, 
acting under the authority of the Book Committee. The 
salaries of the General and Conference Missionary Sec¬ 
retaries and their helpers are fixed respectively by the 
General and Conference Boards of Missions, and the same 
rule is applied to the officers and employees of all other 
Church B oards. Itinerant preachers appointed to editorial, 
college, and other kinds of work have their salaries fixed 
and paid by the boards employing them. 

Envelopes 

The envelope system of weekly contributions was first 
introduced in 1873 in the Churches in New England and has 
since been adopted almost universally throughout the 
country. It is now the uniform system of the Methodist 
Church and every loyal Methodist who sincerely desires 
to cooperate heartily with the Methodist Church should 
secure and use the envelopes for the weekly contribution. 
The system has been thoroughly tried out and its immense 
advantages recognized by all the Churches which have 
adopted it. It develops the habit of regular, systematic giv¬ 
ing unto the Lord. It makes our giving a thoughtful, cheer- 


54 What Every Methodist Should Know 

ful, systematic worship. “The Lord loveth a cheerful 
giver.” It furnishes the support for the Church in its 
activities, when the money is due, and enables the Church 
to meet current expenses with promptness and honor. 
It introduces the scriptural principle of foresight and 
preparation in giving. Nothing is more worshipful 
and beautiful in the Christian life than the religious plan¬ 
ning and laying by in store in preparation for this de¬ 
lightful service, and this accounts for the scriptural in¬ 
junction: “Let every one of you lay by him in store as God 
hath prospered him.” However small may be your contri¬ 
bution, according to all gospel teaching it is as important 
to you and to the Church and as pleasing to God as the 
largest contribution if the amount is commensurate with 
your ability. You will recall the beautiful tribute the Sav¬ 
iour paid to the poor widow who gave the two mites, and the 
fearful condemnation that fell upon the man of one talent 
because it was so little that he did not think it worth while 
to try to improve it. His Lord cast him into outer darkness 
for this failure. Provide your offering, large or small, and 
worshipfully present it to the Lord according to his com¬ 
mand on the first day of the week. 

Questions on Chapter VI 

1. What was the Old Testament plan of Church support? 

2. See what you can learn of the New Testament plan 
in 1 and 2 Corinthians. 

3. Describe the plan of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, for handling its connectional finances. 

4. Describe the plan for handling Conference finances. 

5. How are our bishops supported? Who fixes their 
salaries? 

6. How are presiding elders supported? Who fixes their 
salaries? 

7. How are pastors supported? Who fixes and collects 
their salaries? 

8. Tell some ways in which the support of other itiner¬ 
ants is met. 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


55 


9. Who handles the business of a pastoral charge? 

10. What is the envelope system? State some good 
points that it has as a method of collecting Church funds. 
Can you think of any disadvantages that it might de¬ 
velop? 

11. Apart from its divine sanction, what is to be said for 
proportionate giving as a reliable means of financing the 
Church? 


CHAPTER VII 


What Methodists Believe 

Bishop McTyeire started his “'History of Methodism ” 
with the statement: “It was not a new doctrine but new 
life the first Methodists sought for themselves and for 
others. . . . The mission of Luther was to reform a corrupt 
Christianity; that of Wesley to revive a dying one. . . . 
The Methodists came forth as evangelists. They per¬ 
suaded men. With existing institutions and creeds they 
had no quarrel. . . . Their controversy was not with 
Church or State authorities, but with sin and Satan; and 
their one object was to save souls.” Accordingly, the 
Methodists did not start on their career by adopting a 
creed. John Wesley was himself an Episcopal clergyman 
and found no fault with the doctrines of that Church. 
When he wrote a Discipline for Methodists he simply took 
those of the Articles of Religion of the Church of England 
which he deemed most important and used them as a sort 
of creed for Methodists. These are found in the front of 
every Methodist Discipline, but for the sake of convenience 
the substance of each one is given here. 

Articles of Religion, Abbreviated. 

(Taken from “When We Join the Church,” by Archie Lowell Ryan. The 
Articles are printed in full in the Discipline.) 

*1. There is but one God, but he has revealed himself as 
a Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

*2. Jesus is the God-Man. He was truly man and also 
truly God. 

*3. Jesus arose with his body from the grave and lives 
forever. 

* 4. The Holy Spirit is a divine Person. 

(56) 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


57 


*5. The Bible contains all we need to know to be saved 
and is our only sacred rule of faith and life. 

*6. The Old Testament as well as the New Testament 
is sacred. The Old Testament ceremonies and customs 
were for the Jewish people, but its general precepts are for 
all. 

*7. All men inherit from their ancestors evil as well as 
good traits and desires. These inherited evil impulses 
incline us to do wrong and are therefore called “birth 
sins,” or “original sin.” 

*8. Each of us has a free will and can choose right or 
wrong, but we are unable without the help of God to live a 
good and holy life. 

*9. We are saved by faith, and faith only. No one can 
be saved by his good works. 

*10. Good works that are done in the right spirit are 
pleasing to God. They are the necessary fruits of a Chris¬ 
tian life. 

*11. No one can do more good than he ought to do, so 
there can be no works of supererogation to be credited to 
other people. 

*12. A Christian who falls into sin can receive God’s 
forgiveness if he truly repents. 

fl3. The visible Church of Christ is composed of be¬ 
lieving people banded together to provide for the preaching 
of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. 

fl4. The Roman Catholic view of purgatory, the pardon 
of sins, and the worship of images, relics, and saints is 
contrary to the Word of God. 

fl5. In the public worship and the sacraments only a 
language the people can understand should be used. 

fl6. There are only two sacraments, baptism and the 
Lord’s Supper. 

fl7. Baptism is a symbol of the new birth, or the symbol 
of beginning of the Christian life. 

f 18. The Lord’s Supper is a symbol of Christ’s suffering 
and death for us. The bread and wine are not changed into 
Christ’s body. 


58 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


f 19. The people have a right to both the bread and the 
wine in the Lord’s Supper. 

f20. The “mass” is unscriptural and utterly wrong. 

121. Ministers have a right to get married. 

f22. Every Church, or denomination, has the right to 
adopt and use a ritual of its own. 

*23. The government of the United States is and ought 
to be free and independent. 

*24. Christians have a right to own private property if 
they use it in a Christian way. 

*25. It is right for the sake of justice and truth to take 
an oath before a proper official. 

Of the above Twenty-Five Articles of Faith, thirteen are 
accepted by the Christian world. They are indicated 
thus *. Twelve of them are articles on which the Method¬ 
ists and other Protestant Churches differ from the Roman 
Catholic Church. They are marked thus f. 

There are other doctrines held in common by the Chris¬ 
tian world and still other doctrines held by the Roman 
Catholic from which the Methodists and other Protestant 
Churches dissent. 

When a person unites with the Methodist Church the 
only creed that he is required to subscribe to is what is 
commonly known as the Apostles’ Creed. 

From the above summary it will be seen that upon the 
truths that follow the Christian world has ever been agreed: 

1. Concerning God .—That “we believe in God the Father 
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,” “who in perfect 
wisdom, holiness, and love pervades, sustains, and rules 
the world which he has made.” “And in Jesus Christ his 
only Son our Lord,” who was in glory with the Father 
before all worlds, and who, in the infinite love of the Father 
the Son for us men and our salvation, counted not his 
divine glory a prize to be selfishly held fast, but emptied 
himself and became partaker of man’s nature. “ Was con¬ 
ceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,” re¬ 
vealed in one holy life God to men and how men should live * 
to God. Died the just for the unjust, as an atonement for 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


59 


sin. “ Rose again from the dead the third day,” and by his 
life, death, and resurrection established a way by which 
men may obtain forgiveness of sins, purity of heart, and 
blessedness forever. “And in the Holy Ghost,” “pro¬ 
ceeding from the Father and the Son, very and eternal God, 
by whose operation on men dead in trespasses and sin they 
are quickened to repentance, faith, and loving obedience, 
and are made partakers of the divine nature.” 

2. Of God's Grace .—“That were it not for the grace of 
God, revealed in Christ, there would be no impulse now in 
any heart to turn again to God and righteousness; but that 
through this grace of God, revealed in Christ, God seeks 
and has been seeking through ail time to draw men 
again unto himself, restoring in them his lost image, 
and fitting them for yet partaking of that blessedness and 
fellowship which he designed for them in their creation.” 

3. Of Salvation. —“That, where there is response on the 
part of man to the divine impulse, he comes to hate iniquity 
and love righteousness, to recognize the defilement of his 
own nature, the power of sin in his life, and his need of a 
Deliverer; and that, trusting in Jesus Christ as the world’s 
Redeemer and his Saviour, he finds peace with God and 
spiritual renewal.” “Wherefore that we are justified by 
faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of 
comfort.” 

4. Of Damnation .—“That where there is resistance of 
man to this drawing of God, those doing so reveal them¬ 
selves thereby as at enmity with God and righteousness 
and rebels in his universe.” Where such resistance is 
persisted in it can only result in the everlasting banish¬ 
ment of that soul from God, in misery and woe, as is plainly 
set forth in the Scriptures. 

5. Of Obedience .—“ That it is incumbent upon all those 
who have been restored through faith in Jesus Christ to 
God’s fellowship and favor to order their lives in obedience 
to God’s Word, following the example of their Lord and 
Saviour, who did no sin, and who went about doing good.” 

6. Of the Church .—“That the regenerate are the true 


60 What Every Methodist Should Know 

Church, to which, among other sacred obligations, is 
committed the task (in the power of the Holy Ghost) 
of transforming the world morally and socially into the 
kingdom of God.” 

7. Of the Sacraments .—“That the sacraments of baptism 
and the Lord’s Supper were instituted by Christ ‘not only 
as badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but 
also as signs of grace, by the which he doth work invisibly 
in us, and doth not only quicken but also strengthen and 
confirm our faith in him.’” “Baptism with water in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost 
is commanded by Christ, and is a sign of regeneration or the 
new birth.” f “The Lord’s Supper, a partaking of bread 
and wine together, is not only a sign of the love that Chris¬ 
tians ought to have among themselves one to another, but 
also is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death 
and a memorial thereof till he come.” 

8. Of the Judgment .—“That Christ shall come again in 
glory at the end of the world to judge the world in right¬ 
eousness; that there shall then be a resurrection of all men 
from the dead, to receive final awards, according to the 
deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether 
they be evil.” 

9. Of the State .—“That as respects civil affairs, it is as 
truly the duty of every Christian to ‘render unto Caesar 
the things that are Caesar’s’ as ‘unto God the things that 
are God’s.’” 

The General Rules, 

(Abbreviated. Printed in full in the Discipline. Taken from “When We 
Join the Church,” by Archie Lowell Ryan.) 

The General Rules forbid 

1. Doing harm or evil of any kind; profanity (swearing); 
unnecessary work and buying or selling on Sunday; using, 
buying, or selling intoxicating liquors as a beverage; 
fighting, quareling, brawling, brother going to law with 
brother; returning evil for evil; smuggling; taking usury 
or unlawful interest; uncharitable or unprofitable conversa¬ 
tion, particularly speaking evil of magistrates or of minis- 


What Every Methodist Should Know 61 

ters; doing to others as we would not they should do unto 
us. 

2. Doing what we know is not for the glory of God, as 
indulging in extravagance in dress; the taking such diver¬ 
sions as cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus; 
singing smutty songs and reading questionable and harm¬ 
ful books; practicing needless self-indulgence; laying up 
treasure upon the earth; contracting debts without a 
probability of being able to pay them. 

The General Rules require 

Being merciful and doing good of every possible sort, and 
as far as possible to all men: 

To their bodies, by giving food to the hungry, by 
clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are 
sick or in prison. 

To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or encouraging 
all with whom we come in contact. 

Doing good, especially to Christians, employing them 
preferably to others; buying one of another; helping each 
other in business. 

Being diligent and frugal. 

Running with patience the race which is set before us— 
denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily. 

The General Rules enjoin: 

Attendance upon all the ordinances of God, such as— 

The public worship of God, 

The Lord’s Supper, 

Family and private prayer, 

Bible study. 

Questions on Chapter VII 

1. Is the standpoint of Methodism mainly doctrinal or 
experimental? 

2. Where did we get our Twenty-Five Articles of Reli¬ 
gion? 

3. Where did we get our General Rules? 

4. What vow do we take when we join the Church? 

5. What do we believe about God? 

6. What do we believe about Jesus Christ? 


62 What Every Methodist Should Know 

7. What is our faith in the Holy Spirit? 

8. How do we believe that men are saved? 

9. What do we believe about the Church? 

10. What is the “mass”? Who believes in it? Is it 
justified in the Bible? 

11. What do we believe about civil government? 

12. What do our General Rules forbid? What do they 
enjoin? What do they require? 


CHAPTER VIII 


Distinctive Doctrines of Methodism 

While Methodism started in a new experience, and not 
a new doctrine, its main business is to teach the Bible; and 
the Bible must be studied before it can be taught. Bible 
students differ as to the meaning of certain passages, and 
every conscientious teacher feels bound to explain the 
Bible as he understands it. Out of these different inter¬ 
pretations of Scripture have grown the “doctrinal differ¬ 
ences” among Christians. Where any considerable body 
of Christians have agreed on an interpretation of Scripture 
their view has been written sooner or later into a statement 
of what they believe in common, and that statement has 
been called a “creed.” In that way the great creeds of 
Christendom have grown up. When the Methodists went 
forth to preach they explained the Bible as they under¬ 
stood it, and their interpretations did not always please 
some of their hearers. Their teachings were attacked, and 
they felt duty bound to defend them. So in England much 
of the first writing of the early Methodists was “con¬ 
troversial,” and in this country “doctrinal debates” 
between Methodists on the one hand and Calvinists or 
immersionists on the other were frequent. But in matters 
of that sort it has been the practice of Methodists to act 
on the defensive. Before receiving “elder’s orders” 
every Methodist preacher takes a solemn obligation to “be 
ready with all faithful diligence to banish and drive away 
all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God’s 
word.” Hence when others insist upon teaching our mem¬ 
bers doctrines that we think are not sound, it becomes the 
duty of the pastor to expose the fallacy of such doctrines. 

Different interpretations of the Bible have led to differ¬ 
ences of belief in different Churches, and the things which 
we believe and which some other bodies of Christians do 

( 63 ) 


64 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


not believe, as distinguished from the doctrines held by 
Christians in common, have become what are called the 
“distinctive doctrines” of Methodism. 

The following summary of distinctive doctrines has been 
prepared by Rev. T. H. Lipscomb: 

1. As Distinct from What Roman Catholics Believe 

Catholics would, in general, agree on all points indicated 
in the last chapter section, as held by Methodists “in 
common with all Christians,” though all along they would 
add matters of faith which Methodists and all Protestants 
reject. To the Holy Scriptures, as the rule of faith and 
practice, they would add the traditions of the Catholic 
Church as of like validity. To the doctrines of man’s fall 
and redemption through grace in Christ Jesus they would 
add—now in an undertone, formerly in unmistakable 
terms—that this grace of God is mediated by and through 
the Roman Catholic Church only, which is the vicegerent 
of Christ upon earth, with the pope as its infallible head. 

They hold that salvation is by both faith and works; 
that works of supererogation are possible; and that through 
the Church the excess of good works of the saints may be 
transmitted to the sinful. The piety of saints is also sup¬ 
posed to make their prayers of special avail with God; so 
prayers to the saints and to the Virgin Mary are per¬ 
missible, seeking intercession through them. The worship¬ 
ing and adoration of images and relics is permitted and 
justified. 

To the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s 
Supper they add five more—confirmation, penance, orders, 
matrimony, and extreme unction—and upon these sacra¬ 
ments great emphasis is placed. Baptism efficaciously 
works regeneration within all who are baptized; practi¬ 
cally all are baptized in infancy; so the evangelical Chris¬ 
tian doctrine of conversion is almost unknown. The 
priest in the mass performs the priestly function of offering 
up, in the elevation of the host, time and again the sacri¬ 
fice of Christ to God, at which the people bow in worship 
of the host as God. Upon the congregation the priest 
pronounces absolution of sins, and at the confessional in 
private—the priest thus standing between man and God, 
and the people approaching God and receiving blessings 
from him through the priest. So in extreme unction, at 
the point of death, the priest, with olive oil consecrated by 
a bishop, anoints with much ceremony and Latin quota¬ 
tions various parts of the body (eyes, ears, mouth, nose, 


What Every Methodist Should Know 65 

feet, etc.), washing away sin, confirming the soul of the 
sick man, and assuring him of God’s mercy. 

And even beyond the grave, to our doctrines of heaven 
and hell they add a doctrine of purgatory in whose fires the 
souls of all imperfect Christians are to be purified and 
fitted for heaven. 

To all of which, including their forbidding of the clergy 
to marry, Methodists and Protestants in general reply, in 
the language of the Thirty-Nine Articles: “Such are fond 
things, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty 
of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.” 

2. As Distinct from What Baptists Believe 

(1) Pouring, sprinkling, and immersion are all scrip- 
turally proper modes of baptism, and insistence upon 
baptism by immersion only is an emphasis, contrary to the 
spirit of the New Testament and unjustified in the New 
Testament, upon the merely outward mode of symbolizing 
an inward grace. While all Christians agree that Christ 
commands baptism, using water “in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” yet we 
emphatically deny that he specified a mode, and that im¬ 
mersion is essential to obedience. Those as truly “obey 
Christ in baptism” who, confessing him as Lord and Sav¬ 
iour, are baptized by pouring or sprinkling (the Bible is 
full of allusions to these as symbolizing cleansing) as do 
those who are baptized by immersion. They have, further, 
the advantage of being less likely to make their faith cen¬ 
ter around and in the observance of a mere outward rite 
than are those who give to the mode such overshadowing 
emphasis. 

(2) Its ministers, and the ministers of all denominations 
who are called of God to this holy office, are as truly minis¬ 
ters of Jesus Christ as are those ordained by the Baptist 
Church, and when so authorized by their respective 
Churches are as truly empowered to administer the sacra¬ 
ments, and these sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s 
Supper are as valid when administered by them as by a 
Baptist preacher. The claim of the Baptist Church to these 
rights exclusively, and the rejection by them of even im¬ 
mersion when administered by a preacher not of their 
communion, Methodists look upon as an assumption of 
exclusive rights in the kingdom of God unparalleled (even 
Roman Catholics admit the validity of alien baptism), 
which the Christian charity and catholicity of other Chris¬ 
tian ministers and Churches must pardon, and be brotherly 
still. 


5 


66 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


(3) There is no justification in the New Testament, 
further it is contrary to the spirit of Christian unity 
constantly enjoined by Christ, for excluding from the sacra¬ 
ment of the Lord’s Supper those who would come in rever¬ 
ence and faith, merely because they differ in conviction 
as to matters of outward administration. To do so is to 
manifest the spirit of the sons of Zebedee, whom Christ 
rebuked for their exclusiveness. 

Such doctrines, regarding ministerial rites, baptism, 
and the Lord’s Supper, it is painful even to state, and to 
be rejected they need but to be known. They will certainly 
one day have to he discarded even by Baptists themselves, 
when Christ crowns as his own ministers and men of all 
faiths, baptized by all modes, and when he invites all alike 
to sit down together to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

(4) Methodists hold further, as distinct from Baptists, 
that, having once entered into a state of grace, it is possible 
to fall therefrom. The same free choice through which one 
becomes united to Christ remains after conversion, so that 
a man is entirely free to depart from God through 
spiritual neglect or through sinful indulgence. This is 
written large upon the pages of Scripture, the most 
explicit statements of it possible being given at length (as 
in Ezekiel xviii. 24-32, xxxiii. 12-18), and the constant 
exhortations to watchfulness, to prayerfulness, to keep the 
body under lest we ourselves (even St. Paul) should be cast 
away—all are in evidence of the possibility of apostasy, not 
only of drawing back, but of “drawing back unto perdi¬ 
tion,” as is specifically stated time and again. To answer 
that those whose “lamps were gone out” never had any 
oil, or that those that work iniquity will be saved despite 
the fact that the contrary is specifically stated in the 
Scriptures, is the argument of one desperate in defeat. 

(5) Lastly, as distinct from Baptists, Methodists be¬ 
lieve, with Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Congregation- 
alists, Lutherans, Roman and Greek Catholics—in fact, 
with forty-nine fiftieths of Christendom—in the baptism 
of infants. As of old they brought “their babes” to Jesus, 
as the Greek word indicates (Luke xviii. 15), so we still 
bring ours, assured that the Master approves and blesses 
them and rebukes those who rebuke us. And as baptism 
is the symbol of acceptance and grace and blessing, we 
baptize them, admitting that they cannot understand, but 
assured that bringing our children thus into covenant 
relations with God and taking upon ourselves the obligation 
of teaching them the meaning of the rite and the truths of 
our holy religion, hoping and saying that they may em¬ 
brace them and ratify our action in later years, has behind 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


67 


it the scriptural precedent of circumcision, commanded of 
God throughout Hebrew history—the words of Christ as 
he said, “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, 
to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven;” 
and several instances of “household” baptisms, which im¬ 
ply the baptism of infants, and the practice of the Christian 
Church from the earliest centuries. Certainly if pouring 
or sprinkling is not baptism, nor the baptism of infants, we 
face the anomaly of heaven full of unbaptized persons, for 
an overwhelming majority of Christians in every age have 
been baptized in no other manner. 

(6) As to Church government, it is well known that 
Methodists have always followed and prefer in the United 
States an episcopal form of government, as being both con¬ 
sistent with scripture and effective; comparable not to a 
monarchy, as is sometimes claimed, but to such a republic 
as we live in, with men elected to office and to membership 
in Conferences, and they exercising such appointive or 
legislative powers as have thereby been conferred upon 
them. The Baptists maintain a democracy so absolute as 
to be almost without a parallel in history, each local Church 
refusing to allow any delegated and representative body 
to legislate for it. 

3. As Distinct from What Presbyterians Believe 

(1) Christ died for all mankind and not for the elect only, 
and he draws all men by his Spirit with what may be an 
effectual calling, if they will only respond thereto. An 
unconditional foreordination and election of some to ever¬ 
lasting life, and foreordination of others to everlasting 
punishment by withholding from them an effectual call, 
is a limitation of the atonement and of the love and mercy 
of God, unjustified by the scriptural revelation which God 
gives to us of himself and of his Son. We believe, too, that 
to hold such is to place the blame for sin and neglect of 
salvation not upon the sinner, but upon God, who with¬ 
holds from him those spiritual aspirations and impulses 
which alone would enable him to repent and believe. 

(2) As to Divine sovereignty, we believe that God had 
a purpose and design in creation, and that this purpose and 
design he is seeking to work out in human history; that his 
purpose and design for every man is good, but that through 
freedom man may, and often has and does, frustrate and 
make impossible the fulfillment of all these gracious plans 
through willful disobedience and rebellion. To teach 
otherwise seems to us to make God the author of sin, and 
makes the wickedness of earth and the misery of hell, alike 


68 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


with the glory of heaven, that which he desired, designed, 
decreed, and brought to pass.... If it is objected that such is 
to destroy the sovereignty of God, we answer: Not so; it 
was his sovereign will which made us free, and his sovereign 
power will at last put all enemies under his feet. He cannot 
and should not force men to do his will, but he can and 
should and will condemn them when they stubbornly 
refuse. “ All evil in possibility was the awful price God had 
to pay for any personal sainthood.” 

(3) The final perseverance of the saints, a doctrine 
logically following the conception of God’s sovereignty as 
held by Presbyterians, Methodists cannot accept either on 
rational or scriptural grounds. For it implies that with 
conversion human freedom ceases; that God has got you 
and he is going to hold you, whether you will or not. Such 
we believe to be unreasonable and unscriptural, both the 
Old Testament and the New Testament being full of pas¬ 
sages to the effect that, though 

“The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose 
He will not, he will not desert to its foes,’* 

yet we may forsake him even after having been once en¬ 
lightened and been made partakers of the Holy Ghost 
(Heb. vi. 4-6), and that “the last state of that man is 
worse than the first” (Luke xi. 26). For “it had been 
better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, 
than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy 
commandment delivered unto them.” (2 Pet. ii. 21, 22.) 

(4) As to regeneration, Presbyterians are more in¬ 
definite in their teaching than are most Christian bodies, 
though they strongly hold to the necessity of regenerating 
grace for salvation. But whether the seeds both of re¬ 
pentance and faith are implanted in the hearts of elect 
infants by the secret operation of the Spirit, as some have 
taught, or whether this takes place in later years, is a 
point on which the Church is silent. Methodists have 
never taught regeneration in infancy, but that regeneration 
in the full Christian sense takes place only as, in conscious 
need, the soul cleaves to Christ as a personal Saviour. All 
agree, however, that the Holy Spirit begins his work in 
earliest years; to be continued as the child grows and is 
instructed until it comes, unless disobedient, to a full and 
conscious experience of salvation through personal faith. 

(5) As to Church government, Presbyterians differ 
from Methodists in rejecting the episcopal mode of govern¬ 
ment, though they delegate legislative and judicial powers 
to presbyteries, synods, and General Assemblies to a 
degree far in excess of that conceded by Baptists. They 


What Every Methodist Should Know 69 

recognize also the ministerial rights and offices of other 
Churches. 

-4. As Distinct from What Episcopalians Believe. 

(1) As to apostolic succession, Episcopalians maintain 
that their ministry has been empowered to exercise the 
functions thereof by the laying on of hands of bishops in 
succession from the apostles themselves, though it is very 
generally admitted that no such unbroken succession can 
be traced. They, therefore, claim to be, to a degree excel' 
ling all others except Roman Catholics, empowered to exer¬ 
cise the office of the ministry and to be the Church of God; 
not to the extent, however, to which the Baptists go, of 
denying the validity of baptism administered by the minis¬ 
ters of other communions, or of requiring that candidates 
be rebaptized. Methodists deny the validity of the claim 
to unbroken succession from the apostles, and its impor¬ 
tance even if admitted. They maintain that true apostolic 
succession, acceptable to God, is partaking of the spirit of 
the apostles atid carrying forward in faith and love, under 
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the work which they 
began on earth. 

(2) Episcopalians believe also, in an unqualified sense, 
in baptismal regeneration, and hold that baptism with 
water and renewal by the Holy Ghost are coincident. Con¬ 
sequently the baptized children of the Church they look 
upon as already saved, needing only instruction and con¬ 
firmation as qualifying them for full membership. Meth¬ 
odists place greater emphasis upon the need of a “ change of 
heart” for all, after they come to years of accountability, 
and to a definite profession of faith on acceptance into 
Church membership. Consequently Episcopalians have 
never been as evangelical as Methodists either in doctrine 
or religious effort. 

(3) Methodists deny that ministers to-day can rightly 
be termed “priests,” having neither the rights of offering 
sacrifice or forgiving sins, to which appellation Episco¬ 
palians hold. Except in high Church circles, however, no 
sacrificial priestly function is admitted, _ and the rite of 
absolution is performed only in a qualified sense. The 
altar, symbolizing sacrifice, is retained in all Episcopal 
churches, yet not as having thereon (as in Roman Catholic 
churches) the very body and blood of Christ; and before 
this altar the priest ministers, as in a spiritual sense medi¬ 
ating between God and the people. The use of vestments 
and of a more elaborate ritual is also an obvious, though not 


70 What Every Methodist Should Know 

essential, difference between Methodists and Episcopal¬ 
ians. 

(4) Methodists and Episcopalians agree in having an 
episcopal mode of government; though in the Episcopal 
Church each bishop is limited in jurisdiction to a particular 
and permanent diocese, while in the Methodist Church 
bishops are elected as overseers of the Church at large, 
with such jurisdiction over different portions of the Church 
from time to time as may seem best for the promotion of 
its welfare. Episcopal bishops possess no such appointive 
power over the clergy as do Methodist bishops.—“ Things 
Methodists Believe , ” by T. H. Lipscomb. 

Questions on Chapter VIII 

1. What is a “distinctive doctrine” of Methodism? 

2. How did creeds come to be written? 

3. What obligation is a Methodist preacher under to 
defend the doctrines of his Church? 

4. What doctrines distinguish us from Romanists? 

5. What doctrines distinguish us from Baptists? 

6. What doctrines distinguish us from Presbyterians? 

7. What doctrines distinguish us from Episcopalians? 


CHAPTER IX 

Outstanding Doctrines of Methodism 

We have stated that Methodism demands no narrow 
creedal test of those who would become Methodists. In 
his sermon on the “Catholic Spirit” John Wesley said: 
“Every wise man will allow others the same liberty of 
thinking which he desires they should allow him; and will 
no more insist on their embracing his opinions than he 
would have them to insist on his embracing theirs. He 
bears with those who differ from him, and only asks him 
with whom he desires to unite in love that single question, 
‘Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?’” In 
preparing the General Rules for the United Society, the 
name by which the first Methodist Societies were known 
before they became a separate Church, John Wesley said: 
“There is only one condition previously required of those 
who desire admission into these Societies, a “desire to flee 
from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins. ’ ’ 
But he added the significant statement; “But wherever 
this is fixed in the soul, it will be shown by its fruits.” The 
whole Methodist movement grew out of the religious 
experience of John Wesley and those who worked with 
him. This was true of Methodist doctrine as well as 
Methodist organization. This is the New Testament way. 
Paul, the great doctrinal writer of the New Testament, 
built his whole doctrinal system upon his personal knowl¬ 
edge of Jesus Christ, as that knowledge shed light on the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament. The great body of scrip¬ 
tural truth was held by the Church of England, and it was 
not on doctrinal gounds that Wesley finally broke with the 
Establishment. What happened in the Methodist move¬ 
ment was that the doctrines of the Church were warmed 
into life by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was on matters 

(71) 


12 


What Every Methodist Should Knoit) 


of Church polity, rather than doctrinal grounds, that 
Wesley dissented from the Church of England. 

A Universal Atonement 

Holding in common with other Christians to such doc¬ 
trines as the Trinity, the Methodists preached that Christ 
died for the whole human race, and that every human being 
could be saved by faith in Christ. This was contrary to 
the teachings of the Calvinists of that day (Presbyterians, 
Baptists, Congregationalists, and some Episcopalians) who 
taught what they called the “doctrine of election,” which 
means that before God made man, “from all eternity,” he 
selected certain members of the human race to be saved 
from sin and left the rest to a horrible fate, which they 
could not escape. Those chosen for salvation were the 
“ elect”; the rest were “ reprobates.” The Methodists plant¬ 
ed themselves on the “whosoevers” of the New Testament 
(see John iii. 16, Rev. xxi. 17, etc.) and boldly declared that 
“Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every 
man.” This was called the doctrine of “free salvation,” 
and it won its way until to-day it is preached from most 
of the pulpits of the world. One secret of the success of 
Methodism has been its offer of salvation to all who would 
come to Christ. 


Salvation by Faith 

Another doctrine of the early Methodists was that no 
human organization or authority could come between a 
soul and God. The sacerdotal Churches (Roman Catholic 
and Church of England) were insisting that men could 
come to Christ only through the Church; and each of these 
claimed to be the only true Church of God on earth. The 
Methodists, along with other Dissenters, declared that 
“there is one God, and one mediator between God and 
man, the man Christ Jesus,” and that since he had made 
atonement for sin it was only necessary for the sinner to 
trust in him. Men were first invited to Christ, and after¬ 
ward into the Church. 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


73 


Justification 

God the Father is then pleased to count that one justi¬ 
fied in his sight, as frequently an accused man is ac¬ 
quitted before our courts and the charge canceled. The 
forgiven sinner is adopted into the family of God and 
receives the ground of a new life. 


This change is called regeneration, the new birth, and 
by other terms in the New Testament. Methodism 
has preached from the beginning, “You must be born 
again/’ Our Church seeks to lead all its people to a Chris¬ 
tian experience and to an assurance that they are truly 
children of God. 


The Witness of the Spirit 

When Methodism arose it was a mooted question among 
Christians whether any person could know his own stand¬ 
ing with God. It was held in Calv4nistic circles that men 
could hope, but could not know that they were of the 
“elect” this side the grave. The hymn that is sometimes 
sung even to this day voiced the prevalent teaching on this 
subject: 

“’Tis a thing I long to know; 

Oft it gives me anxious thought; 

Do I love the Lord, or no? 

Am I his, or am I not?” 

The Methodists asserted that the good Heavenly Father 
does not leave his children in doubt on such an important 
question as that. They made much of the doctrine of the 
witness of the Spirit. John Wesley said: “The testimony 
of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby 
the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am 
a child of God: that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given 
himself for me; and that I, even I, am reconciled to God.” 
This doctrine of a conscious salvation here and now, veri¬ 
fied to-day in the experience of millions of Christians, was 
regarded when Methodism arose as the privilege of only 


74 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


a chosen few. Now, like the other great doctrines of 
Methodism, it is preached by a very large portion of the 
Christian world. 


Sanctification 

The newborn man is from the beginning consecrated and 
set apart for divine service. The process of growth begins 
and is followed by degrees of development, ever having for 
its goal entire sanctification, or Christian perfection. The 
growing life in the Spirit becomes more and more biased 
against sin and more resolved to attain the highest state 
of grace. Temptations still are felt, but their force is more 
easily resisted as the desires for a deeper religious life 
become stronger. Those who of their own will and by 
the help of God press onward to this goal all the days of 
their lives build the most helpful characters of earth and 
fix their destinies for the eternal life. 

Po^ible to Backslide 

Our Lord, for his part, provides for the keeping of this 
salvation to the end, but it depends upon our own wills 
whether or not we shall eternally hold fast the gospel privi¬ 
lege. We adhere to that system of doctrine which inter¬ 
prets the Bible to teach that a man is able to abide 
constantly in union with Christ, or he can sever himself 
from the true Vine and be cast forth to wither and die. 
Methodism proclaims that the gospel is for all men 
without any exception, and that whosoever will may 
be saved from sin. Methodism is social and democratic 
in its spirit. It welcomes all, whether rich or poor, educated 
or ignorant. It tries to make every one feel “at home.” 
Methodism is aggressive in its fight against evil. It does 
not compromise with wrong and does oppose worldliness 
in every form. Methodism is a world-wide brotherhood 
at work in almost every part of the earth. Our government 
is a system of careful universal supervision. This gives us 
the strength of a great army.— Membership Manual of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church . 


75 


What Every Methodist Should Know 
Missions 

The duty of preaching the gospel to the whole world is 
not a peculiar doctrine of Methodism, for the Great Com¬ 
mission is now accepted as of binding force by all the great 
Christian Churches of the world; but when Methodism 
arose there was little zeal for the salvation of the world, 
and the general notion, especially among Calvinists, was 
that “when God wants the world converted, he will con¬ 
vert it.” Methodists felt that God is always willing to 
save men; that “he waits to be gracious”; but that the 
task of telling men of the Saviour is committed to the 
Church. They asked: “How shall they hear without a 
preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent” 
(Rom. x. 14, 15)? John Wesley said, “The world is my 
parish.” So as soon as the Methodist Societies were 
dotted over the face of the British Isles, they began to 
cross seas to America and India to carry the gospel of 
salvation in Christ to all who would “call upon the name of 
the Lord.” It was this missionary spirit that made 
American Methodism, and that has caused it to carry the 
gospel around the world. 

The Kingdom of God 

The New Testament has much to say about the kingdom 
of God. When John the Baptist and Jesus began to preach, 
each declared that the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus 
talked of the kingdom of God through all his public life 
and tried to make the disciples understand its true nature. 
In the mind of John Wesley the kingdom of God was iden¬ 
tical with true religion, or Christianity. In his sermon on 
Scriptural Christianity Mr. Wesley said: “The time will 
come when Christianity will prevail over all and cover the 
earth. . . . Of this the prophets of old inquired and searched 
diligently: of this the spirit that was in them testified: 
‘It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain 
of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the 
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all 
nations shall flow unto it. And they shall beat their 


76 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning- 
hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 
shall they learn war any more. ,,, The early Methodists 
believed that Christianity begins in a personal experience, 
a work of the Holy Spirit that makes a new heart and a new 
life. Their doctrine was: “If any man be in Christ he is a 
new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things 
are become new” (2 Cor. v. 17). They believed that 
when a soul has this experience it is concerned for the 
salvation of other souls and will seek to win them to 
Christ, that every true Christian is a witness for Christ. 
They felt that in this way Christianity would spread from 
heart to heart until, like the leaven working in the meal, 
it would at last “leaven the whole lump.” With prophetic 
vision John Wesley pictured the day when all Christ’s 
enemies are under his feet and his kingdom rules over all 
the world: “Civil discord is at an end forevermore, and 
none is left either to hurt or destroy his neighbor. Here is 
no oppression to make ‘even the wise man mad’; no ex¬ 
tortion to ‘grind the face of the poor’; no robbery or wrong; 
no rapine or injustice; for all are content with ‘such things 
as they possess.’ Thus ‘righteousness and peace have 
kissed each other’; they have ‘taken root and filled the 
land;’ ‘righteousness flourisheth out of the earth;’ and 
‘peace looketh down from heaven.’ The early Methodists 
taught that the kingdom of God would triumph, but not by 
the second coming of Christ to destroy the wicked and 
reign in person upon the earth; that doctrine came later 
and never has been the prevailing view among Methodists. 
They believed in a second coming of Christ, but they did 
not think that would take place until after his kingdom 
had saved the world; or as Paul states it: “Then cometh 
the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to 
God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all 
rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign until 
he hath put all enemies under his feet.” Some Methodists 
have held a different view, but the great mass of Methodist 
preachers and laymen, from John Wesley down, have 


What Every Methodist Should Know 77 

believed that God intends to save the world through the 
gospel of his dear Son, through the slow process of preach¬ 
ing and teaching. They believe that the Sermon on the 
Mount shall at last become the law of the world. 

Final Judgment 

Methodists believe in the doctrine of a final judgment 
and condemnation of those who reject Jesus Christ as 
Saviour and Lord. Making due allowance for the figura¬ 
tive language in which some descriptions of the Judgment 
Day are clothed, there stand out stark and naked in the 
midst of the most literal book in the Bible, perhaps, the 
Epistle to the Romans, such statements as, “For we must 
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ,” and “For 
every one of us must give an account of himself unto 
God,” that “every man shall receive the deeds done in the 
body, every man according to that he hath done whether 
it be good or bad.” Side by side with the mercy of God 
is the “terror of the Lord.” “Knowing therefore the terror 
of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Cor. v. 11). “God who 
will render to every man according to his works: to them 
who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and 
honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that 
are contentious, and . . . obey unrighteousness, indigna¬ 
tion and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul 
of man that doeth evil, . . . but glory, honor, and peace to 
every man that worketh good.” (Rom. ii. 5-10). The 
issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation 
of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked. On 
this point Mr. Wesley said: “The wicked meantime shall 
be turned into hell, even all the people that forget God. 
They will be ‘punished with everlasting destruction from 
the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.’ 

. . ‘We look,’ says the apostle, for new heavens and a 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.’ . . . ‘Behold, 
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with 
them, and they shall be his people; and God himself shall 
be with them, and be their God.’ ... Of necessity there- 


78 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


fore they will all be happy: ‘God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes; and there shall be no death, neither sorrow 
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. ,,, In 
short, Methodists believe in immortal life, and that to 
men who reject Christ this life turns to eternal death; and 
that a soul may die without ceasing to exist and suffer. 

The Resurrection 

Methodists believe in the life after death. They be¬ 
lieve in what is termed the “intermediate state,” between 
the death of the body and the final resurrection. They 
believe that the body of Christ actually returned to life, 
and that he now exists in a glorified human body; and that 
“we shall be like him when he shall appear, for we shall 
see him as he is.” In short, we believe, according to the 
teaching of Christ and Paul, that we shall at last have a 
“spiritual body.” Just what that body shall be, we do 
not know, but, in the language of Mr. Wesley, “ God shall 
reveal this also, in its season.” 

Questions on Chapter IX 

1. What was the origin of the Methodist movement? 

2. What do we mean by the universal atonement? 

3. What is the meaning of justification by faith? 

4. What is regeneration? 

5. What do we mean by the witness of the Spirit? 

6. What is the Methodist doctrine of sanctification? 

7. What do we mean by the possibility of apostasy? 

8. What do Methodists believe about missions? 

9. What do we believe about the kingdom of God? 

10. What is the doctrine of a final judgment? 

11. What do we believe about the resurrection of the 
dead? 


CHAPTER X 

What Methodists Believe about the Sacraments 

We have seen in Chapter VII that Methodists believe 
there are two Christian sacraments, baptism and the 
Lord’s Supper. The word “sacrament” is from a Latin 
word that means an “oath” or “convenant.” As used by 
the Church, the word means the sign of a covenant or 
agreement, “an outward, visible sign of an inward, spirit¬ 
ual grace.” It is a visible expression of our faith in and 
unity with Christ. So Paul says: “As many as have been 
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” “As often as 
ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the 
Lord’s death, till he come.” These statements express the 
meaning of the sacraments. Baptism is the confession of 
our faith in Christ, the rite by which we declare allegiance to 
his Church. The Lord’s Supper is the rite by which from 
time to time we reaffirm that which was expressed once 
for all in baptism. Thus our Standard Catechism says: 

Sacraments, 

What sacraments did Christ ordain in the gospel for 
perpetual observance in his Church? 

He ordained two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s 
Supper. 

What is a sacrament? 

An outward and visible sign, appointed by Christ, of an 
inward and spiritual grace, ministered by his Spirit. 

What is baptism? 

The application of water to a proper subject in the name 
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to admit 
the baptized person to the privileges of membership in the 
Church of Christ. 

Who are proper subjects of baptism? 

Little children, penitents, and believers. 

What does baptism signify? 

It is not only a sign of profession, and mark of differ¬ 
ence, whereby Christians are distinguished from others, 

(79), 


80 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration, 
or the new birth. 

What is the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper? 

The use of bread and wine according to Christ’s com¬ 
mandment, in memory of his death for the redemption of 
the world, that his Church may show forth his death till 
he come. 

What does this sacrament signify? 

The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love and 
communion that Christians ought to have among them¬ 
selves, but is also the sacrament of our redemption by 
Christ’s death, and is a perpetual memorial of his precious 
death until his coming again. 

The Mode of Baptism 

(Taken from “Fundamental Doctrines of Methodism,” compiled by 
H. H. Smith.) 

“Methodism does not insist upon any one mode of 
baptism, and wisely so, because the mode is of small im¬ 
portance and the use of clean water is the only essential 
element in this water baptism form. Any one joining the 
Methodist Church may be baptized by sprinkling, pouring, 
or immersion, as he may choose.” 

Christ Was Baptized by Sprinkling. —This is proved by 
the Bible. Christ was not baptized unto repentance, for 
he had no sin. Our immersionist friends say that he was 
baptized as an example for us. But this is passing strange, 
for Paul at Ephesus would not recognize John’s baptism 
as sufficient and so baptized the believers again, thus giving 
them Christian baptism. (See Acts xix. 5.) The only re¬ 
maining explanation is that John the Baptizer was acting 
as a priest under the Old Testament law, which Christ 
observed strictly. In Hebrews we are told that Christ was 
our great High Priest, hence his baptism was the first step 
in his consecration to his high priesthood. Then John 
baptized according to the law, which said that he must 
sprinkle water upon them. (See Numbers viii. 7.) This 
proves that Christ was sprinkled in baptism, and no one 
has been able to prove that he was immersed, although 
many claim that he was. But they simply have not read 
their Bibles carefully on this point. 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


81 


No Immersion in the New Testament .—Paul was not 
immersed. He had been without food and water for three 
days and was too weak to go out of the city to be immersed 
in the river. It is distinctly said that he was baptized right 
there where Ananias found him and before he was given 
anything to eat or drink. Immersion was humanly impos¬ 
sible. (See Acts ix. 9-19.) Of all the baptisms mentioned 
in the New Testament, the Jordan and the unnamed 
river by the side of which Lydia was baptized are the 
only rivers mentioned specifically in connection with a 
baptism, except at these two rivers and the baptizing 
done at Enon, and at “a certain water” (Acts viii. 36). 
All other baptisms, as far as history shows, were performed 
indoors. Nor is a single pool mentioned as a place for bap¬ 
tism. Baptisms took place anywhere by day or night, regard¬ 
less of the amount of water. Many people were baptized in 
their own houses without going to pools and rivers. If they 
had pools of water in their houses, the Bible says nothing 
about it; and we know that only the very rich could afford 
such luxuries. Ephesians iv. 5 speaks of “one Lord, one 
faith, one baptism.” Now, John the Baptizer says in Mark 
i. 7, 8 that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is of far more 
importance than water baptism, so “one” baptism has no 
reference to the mode of baptism at all, but rather to the 
baptism of the Holy Spirit, which both Christ and John 
said was of supreme importance. Romans vi. 4 and Colos- 
sians ii. 12 both speak of being “buried with Christ in 
baptism,” but neither does this refer to the mode. Paul 
describes the Christian as being dead to sin and alive to 
righteousness. This must also of necessity refer to the 
baptism of the Holy Spirit, for it is only when a man is so 
baptized that he becomes dead to sin and alive to righteous¬ 
ness. Then we must remember that the Holy Spirit is 
always described as being “poured out” and “descending,” 
and to say we are to be immersed in the Holy Spirit is 
absurd. The Holy Spirit is poured upon us. We are not 
dipped into the Holy Spirit. Let us read our Bibles more 
carefully. 

6 


82 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


The Greek Word “Baptizo .”—Somebody will say: “But 
the Greek word for baptism is baptizo , which always means 
immerse.” Does it? Let us see. Read Mark vii. 4, Luke 
xi. 38, and Hebrews ix. 10. The word baptizo is used in 
these cases for washing. Would you call washing your 
face and hands an immersion? Not only does baptizo fail 
to mean immersion here, but it is impossible to prove that 
it means immersion anywhere in the New Testament 
where a baptism is referred to. 

Early Christian Pictures. —The earliest Christian pic¬ 
tures or drawings are found in the catacombs in Rome, 
where Christians lived underground during those terrible 
persecutions in the first three centuries. Those pictures 
represent baptism by sprinkling or pouring. The person 
to be baptized walked into the edge of the water, where the 
baptizer John could easily reach down and dip up the water 
to pour on the head. That is what the Bible means when 
it says that Christ went down into the water and came up 
out of the water. In no place is it said that a person went 
under or was immersed in the water. Those pictures in the 
catacombs are seventeen hundred years old and tell the 
truth. When people went barefooted or wore only sandals, 
it was natural that they would walk into the edge of the 
river so that the baptizer would not have to be stepping 
back and forth from the water to the dry land. Let us 
thank God that Methodism insists on the great cardinal 
doctrines of the Bible and a pure heart in every man through 
Christ our Saviour. In all nonessentials and outward 
forms we are given the greatest liberty. Let us take care 
to preserve that glorious liberty wherewith Christ has so 
strangely made us free.— Albert Deems Betts. 

Infant Baptism 

The Scriptures clearly teach that infants were considered 
members of the Jewish Church. The right of infant mem¬ 
bership was established early in the Church, and the door 
through which children entered was circumcision. Cir¬ 
cumcision in the Jewish Church gave place to baptism in 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


83 


the Christian Church. Baptism, like circumcision, is an 
initiatory rite admitting the child into the visible Church. 
The children of Christian believers hold the same relation 
to the Christian Church as the Jewish children held to the 
Jewish Church. 

Christ said, “Suffer little children to come unto me. 

for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” The kingdom of 
God is sometimes used ta signify the visible Church on 
earth and also to signify the Church of God in a state of 
glory. These children were the children of Jewish parents. 
They had evidently been introduced to a Jewish Church 
by circumcision and were recognized by Christ as members 
of that Church; hence he says: “Such are members of the 
Church or of the kingdom of heaven.” If the other 
meaning be taken, the Saviour teaches that all children 
are born in a savable condition. All believe that children 
dying in infancy are saved. If in a state of salvation, they 
are entitled to the sign of that state, which is baptism. If 
they are fit for either kingdom, they are entitled to the 
rite that admits them into the visible kingdom and 
through it to the heavenly kingdom. We are shut up, there¬ 
fore, either to the horrible doctrine of infant damnation or 
the doctrine of infant baptism. The Methodists gladly 
accept and practice the latter. 

Questions on Chapter X 

1. What does the word “sacrament” mean? 

2. What does Christian baptism signify? 

3. What is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper? 

4. What, in the Methodist view, is essential in Christian 
baptism? Does the mode in which it is administered have 
anything to do with the validity of the rite? 

5. Is it in harmony with the spirit of the gospel to require 
certain attitudes and forms in order that the worship and 
service of God may become acceptable to him? 

6. How was Christ baptized? 

7. What does our lesson teach as to the case of Paul and 


84 What Every Methodist Should Know 

the others whose baptism is recorded in the New Testa¬ 
ment? 

8. What do early Christian pictures teach as to the mode 
of baptism? 

9. Why do we practice infant baptism? 


CHAPTER XI 


Church Schools 

Christianity is the friend of learning. It has nothing 
to fear from the truth in any field of knowledge. It be¬ 
lieves that the God of nature and the God of grace is one 
God; that the Bible is God’s truth, and that when all the 
truth in any field is known, that truth will be in perfect 
accord with the whole body of truth. But it believes with 
the wise man that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of 
knowledge,” and that all truth seeking should be carried 
on in a spirit of reverence. Moreover, modern experts 
are telling us that “man is incurably religious,” and that 
any system of education that ignores the religious nature 
of the pupil is as fatally defective as a system that 
ignores the mind or the body. They are talking much of 
man’s “fourfold nature”—the spiritual, the intellectual, 
the physical, and the social—and telling us that if man is to 
come to his best estate these faculties must be treated as 
a unit and trained together. With the masses of the Amer¬ 
ican people religion means Christianity. 

Christians believe that their religion is the one thing 
that makes existence worth while, that the life and immor¬ 
tality that Christ has brought to the race are its one price¬ 
less possession; and that not only should the Christian re¬ 
ligion be taught as a part of education, but that it should 
be the central truth upon which all education should focus. 
They believe that a course in school or college should 
build up, not destroy, the pupil’s faith in Christ. Hence the 
Church in every age has not only been the friend of education 
and led in that field but in many ages and countries it has 
maintained the only schools that there were. As far back as 
the days of Samuel the prophet there were Church schools of a 
sort, and in the five centuries prior to the coming of our 
Lord the schools of the synagogue played a major role in 

( 85 ) 


86 What Every Methodist Should Know 

the training and life of the people. In the time of Christ 
every Jewish community had its synagogue, and every 
synagogue was a schoolhouse where every Jewish boy re¬ 
ceived at least an elementary education in the Old Testa¬ 
ment. Jesus himself was the “Teacher sent from God”; 
and, since the first Christian communities were modeled 
after the synagogue, we may be sure that each congrega¬ 
tion had its school, the more since Jesus had told his disci¬ 
ples to “teach them to observe all things, whatsoever I 
have told you.” During the Dark or Middle Ages the 
history of education is simply a part of the history of the 
Church. The public free school, as we have it do-day, is 
traceable to the movement in behalf of popular education 
that was started by John Wesley. 

Why Have Church Schools ? 

The question is often raised, “Since the State is furnish¬ 
ing a complete system of education from the first grade 
through the university and technical school, why should 
Church members be asked to support another and often a 
rival system of schools?” The answer is that State schools 
are not “complete” since they cannot deal in any thorough 
way with the religious problem of human life, which, if 
religion means anything at all, is the most important prob¬ 
lem. The Church must meet the religious needs of the ris¬ 
ing generation in one of two ways: She must have a system 
of schools of her own, or else she must join forces with the 
State and give religious teaching and training to those 
pupils who are receiving the rest of their education from 
the State. 

Both plans are being tried out. In some places the 
Churches are giving courses in the Bible at certain hours 
of the week, and pupils are released from other school 
duties at those hours to be taught the courses in religion. 
Many plans are being tried out in this field, but as yet no 
plan has been found that could be worked in every com¬ 
munity; and in many places opposition to the plan, or 
lack of cooperation between the Church and public school 


What Every Methodist Should Know 87 

leaders make such work impossible. Whatever may be the 
future educational developments in this country, for the 
present the Church is under the necessity of giving reli¬ 
gious training in her own schools. 

Sunday Schools 

The Methodist Church has always emphasized the Sun¬ 
day school. When Mr. Wesley came to America as a 
missionary among the Indians, one of his first works was 
to establish the Sunday school. He met this class every 
Sunday afternoon in the church and heard the children 
recite their catechism and questioned them about things 
they had learned from his preaching. Thus John Wesley 
in his parish at Savannah established a Sunday school 
about forty-five years before Robert Raikes originated his 
scheme in Gloucester and nearly eighty years before the 
first Raikes Sunday school in America was established in 
the city of New York. 

When Bishop Asbury took charge of the work in 
America, he established as early as 1783 a Sunday school 
in Virginia. Every loyal Methodist is an advocate of our 
great Sunday school work, and should connect himself or 
herself with the Sunday school in some department. The 
statistics show that more than three-fourths of all the 
persons received into the Church come from the Sun¬ 
day school. Many of our distinguished statesmen, law¬ 
yers, physicians, merchants, mechanics, and ministers 
were converted in and received their first religious im¬ 
pulses from the Sunday schools. 

To-day there are many thousands of pupils who get no 
religious training whatever except what they get in the 
Sunday school. When we think that this school bears the 
same relation to the Church and religion that the public 
free school bears to the State and citizenship, we see at 
once how necessary it is that the Sunday school be 
emphasized and improved, so that it shall not suffer by 
comparison with the weekday schools that are attended 
by the same pupils that go to Sunday school. 


88 What Every Methodist Should Know 

But meeting as it does only once a week, and having 
an average class period of not more than thirty minutes, 
the Sunday school cannot possibly do all that is needed in 
teaching the truths of religion and training the devotional 
life of its pupils after they are won to Christ. If our 
Christian education is to be adequate we must have other 
agencies besides the Sunday school. 

Training Special Workers 

The times call for an educated ministry. Paul wrote to 
Timothy: “The things which thou hast learned of me 
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful 
men who shall be able to teach others also.” Our pastors 
need to be thoroughly evangelical and sound in doctrine, 
and well enough trained in all modern religious movements 
to be leaders of their flocks. Then there is a growing de¬ 
mand for trained lay workers of both sexes. Calls for 
directors of Religious Education, assistant pastors, and 
various forms of leadership in lay activities are many and 
insistent. Then there is the growing demand for mission¬ 
aries, both home and foreign. Missions demand our wisest 
and best-trained people. If we are to keep our place of 
leadership and power as a Church, we must be prepared 
to supply these demands, without sending our young people 
beyond our own Church for their special training. 

Making Christ King 

When our Methodist young people are in public school, 
they are supposed to have the holy influence of Christian 
homes. If that is lacking, parents are to blame, and no 
school can undo the influence of a worldly or religiously 
indifferent home. But most college students must be 
away from home. In a State college, if religion touches the 
life of the student at all, it is as something brought in 
from the outside, a mere side issue; but the Church school, 
the Christian school that is true to its mission, makes Christ 
central in the course of study and the college life. For this 
reason parents who are more concerned about the religious 
welfare of their pupils than about anything else are apt to 


What Every Methodist Should Know 89 

choose the Church college. And this is why every great 
Christian denomination maintains its own colleges. 

Methodist Schools 

Methodism, having its name and origin from a group of 
university students, has fostered education from the be¬ 
ginning. When England had no system of public schools, 
and had only six endowed schools—and they accessible 
only to the wealthier classes—John Wesley, seeing the need 
of general education, “wisely attempted all that he could 
possibly do with means at hand.” He opened first at 
Kingswood a school for the children of his itinerants. 
This school soon overflowed, and other facilities were 
provided. Three hundred sons of preachers and mission¬ 
aries were soon registered in these schools. He also 
started an orphans’ house at Newcastle and the day school 
and Girls’ Industrial School. The London Foundry 
School was one of his most important earlier schools. The 
London University, “ which differed from Oxford and Cam¬ 
bridge mainly in that its colleges were located in various 
parts of the kingdom, recognized the Wesleyan Colleges 
and conferred their degrees.” When the system of day 
schools spread over England it was discovered that, out of 
two thousand and eighty-six, the “Wesleyans had over 
seven hundred, of which none existed when Wesley began 
his work.” The Wesleyan Normal School at Westminster 
was built at a cost of $200,000. When Methodism came to 
America this same spirit was manifested, and educational 
institutions sprang up with the churches wherever Meth¬ 
odism has planted itself. 

To-day our two great universities, the one at Atlanta, 
Ga., and the other at Dallas, Tex., together with our Church 
colleges and schools scattered here and there over our 
Southland, are doing a work in Christian education of 
which every loyal Southern Methodist is justly proud. 

“A Commission of ten practical educators appointed 
quadrennially by the College of Bishops” prescribes the 
minimum requirements to be demanded by the several 


90 What Every Methodist Should Know 

classes of institutions belonging to the Church, and reports 
to the Board of Education. The General Conference Board 
of Education, assisted by the several Conference Boards of 
of Education, “inspects the financial condition and equip¬ 
ment, the amount and quality of work done in all the educa¬ 
tional institutions of the Church, and classifies each insti¬ 
tution as an academy, junior college, college, theological 
seminary, or university, according to the relations of its 
equipment and the work done by it to the standards thus 
established by the Commission.” The Church is coming to 
see more and more the need of distinctively Christian educa¬ 
tion, and large sums of money are being contributed for the 
equipment, endowment, and conduct of our schools. 

Questions on Chapter XI. 

1. What is the historic attitude of the Church toward 
learning? 

2. Why must education involve religious training, or 
else remain incomplete? 

3. How long has the Church been maintaining schools? 

4. What justification for the Church’s attitude toward 
education do we find in the New Testament? 

5. Why do we have Church schools in this country? 

6. What has been the historic relation of Methodism 
toward the Sunday school? 

7. What is the relation of the Sunday school to religious 
education in our country? 

8. What other means of giving religious education to the 
masses are being tried? 

9. What is said of the present demand for trained Chris- 
tain workers, and what classes of workers are most in 
demand? 

10. What advantage does the Church college have over 
the State college, when it comes to religious education? 

11. When did Methodists first begin to found schools? 

12. Mention some of the leading educational institu¬ 
tions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

13. Why should Christian parents choose a Church 
college for their children? 


CHAPTER XII 
Methodist Publications 

Since the Church is the friend of education, of course it 
is also the friend of good literature. The Old Testament 
is a literature produced by the Hebrew Church, and is only 
a small fragment of all the Hebrew race produced before 
Christ came. The New Testament was also produced and 
preserved by the Church. The first complete book that 
was printed after the invention of movable type in the 
fifteenth century was a Bible. 

“One of the most successful means adopted by the 
Wesleys for promoting religion was the publication, in 
cheap and popular form, of interesting and instructive 
books. ... In providing cheap literature, Mr. Wesley 
anticipated modern times by many years; and in this kind 
of service he labored almost alone for half a century. Moral 
and sacred poetry he recommended, and published selec¬ 
tions of this kind in three volumes. . . . Most of Wesley’s 
publications were small and cheap, but they had an im¬ 
mense circulation, and not only paid expenses, but left a 
profit. . . . The Foundry [Wesley’s first social service 
center] provided a room for the publication and sale of 
books. This original bookroom became a permanent fea¬ 
ture. The Conference early ordained that every circuit 
was to be well supplied with books by the assistant pas¬ 
tor. A return was made quarterly of money for books 
from each Society, and thus began that organized system 
of book and tract distribution which has secured to Method¬ 
ism an extensive use of the religious press.” (McTyeire, 
in “History of Methodism.”) 

In 1788 the General Conference established the Meth¬ 
odist Book Concern in Philadelphia and began business 
on a borrowed capital of six hundred dollars. In 1804 
this Book Concern was moved to New York. It “mul- 

(91) 


92 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


tiplied its publications and scattered a vigorous Meth¬ 
odist literature through the circuits by the agency of the 
Methodist preachers. They were too busy to make 
books, but they could sell them and thus educate a people 
trained in the truth as they received it. In 1818 the 
Methodist Magazine was started, the beginning of the 
periodic literature for the denomination. It is now known 
as the Methodist Review. . . . The first weekly, the Chris¬ 
tian Advocate (New York), was issued in 1826. A second 
publishing house was established in Cincinnati in 1820.” 

When the unfortunate division of the Methodist Episco¬ 
pal Church came in 1844, and the first General Conference 
of Southern Methodists met in Petersburg, Va., in 1846, it 
adopted the following resolution: “That an agent be ap¬ 
pointed, whose duty it shall be to provide for the supply of 
books, by contracting where they can be obtained by him 
on the best terms; and that he shall cause such books to be 
deposited in Louisville, Charleston, and Richmond, sub* 
ject to the orders of itinerant preachers of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South.” Christian Advocates were 
already being published at Charleston, Richmond, Nash¬ 
ville, and Louisville, and the editors were made assistants to 
the Book Agent, and placed under his direction in depository 
matters. A Quarterly Review (now the Methodist Quarterly 
Review, Nashville) was ordered published. In 1854, after 
securing by legal action the South’s share in the funds of 
the Book Concern, in New York and Cincinnati, the 
General Conference established the Methodist Publishing 
House at Nashville, Tenn. This plant was wrecked and 
used for Federal military purposes during the Civil War, 
but Congress finally passed a bill reimbursing the Church 
for the damage, and we now have a great and flourishing 
Publishing House. This is managed by two Agents, elected 
by the Book Committee, which is elected by the General 
Conference. 

The Methodist Publishing House is one of the most 
important institutions of the Church. It now has branch 
houses at Dallas, Tex., and Richmond, Va. The Church 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


93 


owns one of the most prominent business buildings in the 
city of Nashville. This building houses several of our 
connectional officers and furnishes headquarters for several 
of our General Boards. The connectional interests of the 
Church center here. From this building are issued all our 
Church-wide periodicals, books, and other literature. It is 
Southern Methodist headquarters. All questions touch¬ 
ing Methodist books, literature, Boards, or officers can 
be answered by the Methodist Publishing House, 810 
Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. The Publishing Agents, acting 
under the Book Committee, have charge of the Publishing 
House, and are responsible to the General Conference for 
its management. 


Church Payers 

The Christian Advocate. — Our Church papers con¬ 
stitute an important arm of service. What is termed the 
general organ of the Church is the Christian Advocate , 
published by the Publishing Agents, under an editor 
elected quadrennially by the General Conference. Be¬ 
sides a body of first-class religious reading matter, it 
carries all the most important Church announcements and 
news of activities for the whole Church, including the 
foreign mission fields. 

The Methodist Review. — The most formal, scholarly, 
and technical periodical of our Church is the Methodist 
Review , published quarterly, under an editor elected by 
the General Conference. 

Sunday School Literature. —The Sunday school periodi¬ 
cals are edited by the Sunday School Editor (elected by the 
General Conference) and issued by the Publishing House. 
Two kinds of literature are issued: The “Improved Uni¬ 
form” and the “Graded.” Both kinds are authorized by 
the International Lesson Committee, which represents 
practically all the Protestant Churches in America. In 
each series there is a lesson course for each age group in 
the Sunday school, and a corresponding periodical for 
teachers. Many elective courses in book form on the 


94 What Every Methodist Should Know 

Bible, the Church, missions, and related subjects are also 
issued by the Sunday School Editor. Besides the lesson 
literature, two periodicals are issued for Sunday school 
workers. They are the Church School and the Methodist 
Superintendent and His Helpers. There are also four 
story papers: Our Young People for the older boys and 
girls and grown young people in the Sunday school; 
the Haversack for boys; the Torchbearer for girls; and the 
Boys and Girls for younger Sunday school pupils. The 
Sunday School Magazine, the Adult Student, and the Home 
Quarterly carry several pages of editorial matter and some 
of the best of general articles, news, and suggestions for 
Sunday school workers, in addition to a thorough treat¬ 
ment of the Improved Uniform Lesson. In addition to its 
periodic literature and special courses, the General Sun¬ 
day School Board, through its various departments of work, 
issues many valuable leaflets on all phases of its work, which 
may be had without cost by writing to the General Sun¬ 
day School Board, 810 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. 

The Epworth Era. —The general organ of the Epworth 
League is the Epworth Era. It is edited by the General 
Secretary of the Epworth League. This paper is designed 
to furnish reading matter especially adapted to young 
people, and to keep the Epworth Leaguers informed as to 
the plans and developments of the Epworth League. 

The Missionary Voice. —This is the general organ of 
the Board of Missions, and keeps the Church informed as to 
missionary plans, activities, and progress. The Board of 
Missions also issues a rich variety of leaflet literature, 
which may be had without cost. 

Conference Organs. —Every Annual Conference has what 
is termed a “ Conference organ,” or official paper. In some 
cases two or more Conferences are united in such a ven¬ 
ture, and in others a paper represents a single Confer¬ 
ence, but the plan now generally followed is for the Con¬ 
ferences in a State to have a common organ. Thus the 
St. Louis Christian Advocate represents the Conferences in 
Missouri, the Midland Methodist the Conferences in 


What Every Methodist Should Know 95 

Tennessee, the Texas Christian Advocate the Conferences 
in Texas, the Wesleyan Christian Advocate the Conferences 
in Georgia, and so on. These Conference organs are 
published weekly and contain a most excellent body of 
reading matter on all current vital subjects touching the 
religious, social, and patriotic life of the people; also care¬ 
fully selected and well-prepared articles on scientific, 
literary, sociological, and theological themes. The Chris¬ 
tian Advocate and the Conference papers bring into the 
homes throughout our connection every week a well- 
selected, carefully censored, invaluable body of safe and 
helpful reading matter. In many homes where books are 
few and leisure limited, these papers constitute the home 
library. They keep our Methodist people informed on 
the general activities of the Church, and instruct and 
inspire them. No Methodist home should be without its 
general and Conference organs. 

Books 

Methodists have always believed in books. Until very 
recent years each itinerant preacher was required to re¬ 
port at Annual Conference the number and value of the 
books he had sold during the year. Our people not only 
need clear and adequate knowledge of the teachings of our 
own Church, but Methodist leaders have always known that 
the best preventive or cure for a bad book is a good book. 
Hence our Publishing House issues and sells, under the 
direction of the Book Editor, not only books that are classed 
as “distinctively religious,” but also good works of fiction 
and works on scientific and literary subjects. Any book 
that is fit to read, no matter where published, can be 
ordered through the Methodist Publishing House. 

Questions on Chapter XII 

1. How do we know that the ancient Hebrews were a 
literary people? 

2. Where was the first Methodist publishing plant 
founded? 


96 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


3. Where and when was the first Methodist publishing 
house in America located? 

4. Where was it afterward located? 

5. Where else was a Methodist publishing house located 
early in the growth of American Methodism? 

6. What steps did the first General Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, take to supply its 
people with good literature? 

7. Where was its publishing house afterward located? 

8. Mention some Church periodicals published now by 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

9. Give a brief account of our Sunday school literature. 

10. What is said of our Publishing House and good 
books? 


CHAPTER XIII 
Closing Suggestions 
Studying the Bible 

Our Fifth Article of Religion says: “Holy Scripture con¬ 
tained all things necessary to salvation; so that whatso¬ 
ever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not 
to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an 
article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to 
salvation.” Our General Rules declare that the Word of 
God is “the only rule, and the sufficient rule, both of our 
faith and practice.” Therefore no person can be a good 
Methodist without being a student of the Bible. 

How to Study the Bible 

The Bible is not one book, but a collection of books— a. 
library in one volume. It contains history, prophecy, poet¬ 
ry, apocalyptic writings, biography, autobiography, 
letters, and sayings. 

The following rules may help in Bible study: 

1. Before beginning to study one of the books in the 
sacred library, ask and answer as far as possible five ques¬ 
tions about that particular book: (1) Who wrote it? 
(2) To whom was it written? (3) When was it written? 
(4) Why did he write it? (5) What did he write? This is 
not an impossible task for anyone who seeks seriously to 
study the sacred Scriptures. When you pick up your Bible 
and turn to a book to read, just run through your mind 
these words, “Who, to whom, when, why, what.” This 
method, of course, will require some work and pains, but 
reward comes only to those who work. Now for an example 
of this method, let us use the book of Philemon. Turn to 
Philemon and ask these five questions about it: (1) Who 
wrote it? We know Paul wrote it. (2) To whom was it 
written? It was written to Philemon. (3) When was it 
7 (97) 


98 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


wrtten? It was written in the year 62 or 63, while Paul 
was in prison at Rome. (4) Why was it written? It was 
written to Philemon, a resident of Colossse, urging him to 
receive again Onesimus, his runaway slave, whom Paul 
was sending home. (5) What did he write? He wrote a 
friendly letter. When we have secured this information 
about the book, we are ready to read it with some degree of 
comprehension. This method can be applied to every 
book in the Bible. 

2. There is another method which may be called the 
method of “character study.” If this manner of Bible 
study is more appealing to you, then take up some charac¬ 
ter of the Bible—Moses, for instance—and read consecu¬ 
tively the story of his life just as you would read the 
life story of George Washington. This is a very fasci¬ 
nating as well as a very profitable way to study the Bible. 

3. Another method which may appeal to some is the 
“topical” method. Provide yourself with a concordance; 
take up some subject in which you are interested—Sin, for 
instance—and run down every reference in the Bible on 
the subject. In this manner one can, in a brief period of 
time, marshal all the facts contained in this great library 
on any given subject. 

Three mechanical methods of Bible study have been 
suggested which may be of some service to you. No 
method is ironclad; neither is there any one method which 
will appeal to all. Each person, in the light of the sugges¬ 
tions which he has, must work out his own method. How¬ 
ever, no method is sufficient of itself—the wealth of divine 
meaning buried in the sacred page can be had only as the 
Heavenly Father reveals it to us. Therefore, whatever 
method we use, we should be in an attitude of prayer and 
reverence as we study the Word of God preserved to us in 
the Bible. 

The Family Altar 

The Methodist Church has from its origin made much of 
the home, the family, and family religion. Statistical tests 


What Every Methodist Should Know 99 

made over and over have clearly proved that our ministers 
and laymen who are most active in Church work have 
come from homes where the family altar has been regularly 
and spiritually maintained. The homes of our country 
are like so many streams pouring their currents into a river; 
if the streams are clear, the river will be clear—if foul, they 
will pollute the river. Our whole Church and nation are 
typed by the homes that make up the Church and the 
nation. The Church must depend on the family primarily 
to start the youth in the paths of piety and religious think¬ 
ing. The family altar fortifies and strengthens the Church 
altar. Children reared in homes with no religious services 
and no training in religious habits and thought are 
difficult for the Church to reach. Children reared in 
Christian homes where family altars are maintained come 
naturally into the Church and its activities. No parent, 
therefore, can be true and loyal to the Church and main¬ 
tain a family with a broken-down or neglected family 
altar. The family altar does many valuable and vital 
things for the child which cannot be done in any other 
religious institution. The parent has the child at the form¬ 
ative period of life, when it easily and naturally learns the 
ways and things of life and the method of living. The 
parent is God’s naturally appointed teacher in this school 
of life and duty. God created in the young of all species 
the instinct to follow the parent, and the child takes as 
naturally to the spiritual altar as to the table if one is as 
regularly and properly maintained as the other. This 
early training in religious life is vital. The parent is the 
responsible party. “ Train up a child in the way he should 
go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The 
fearful antithesis is true: Neglect to train, and he will 
depart from the way he should go. The universally accept¬ 
ed proverb of the ages, “ Youth is instructed by nothing 
more than by example,” finds its strongest application in 
the home life. Children take their language and all their 
activities from the model the parent furnishes. The chil¬ 
dren can never get away from the example of father and 


100 What Every Methodist Should Know 

mother around the daily altar of song and prayer, nor can 
they easily throw off the habit formed in themselves by 
this daily attendance upon this service. No parent can 
face God with a lost child, who has willfully neglected the 
strongest and most emphatically urged means of saving 
the child. To say that one cannot lead a simple devotional 
service in the family is as flagrant as to say that one cannot 
apply to a groceryman for food when a child is dying of 
hunger. A half dozen broken sentences about the family 
altar each morning and evening are far more potent in the 
rearing of a child than all the eloquent sermons he may 
hear. 

Church member, your vows cannot be maintained, your 
duty cannot be discharged, your fearful responsibility for 
the salvation or damnation of your child cannot be met, 
unless you observe what your Church has proclaimed in 
all its history as the most vital and important institution 
for the salvation of the home— the family altar. 

Loyalty 

The fact that you have joined the Methodist Church 
indicates that you prefer this Church to all others; that 
you expect to get here your spiritual food, your social life, 
and the field of your religious activities. You have taken 
voluntarily and publicly the vow to support her institu¬ 
tions and attend regularly upon her ordinances. It is 
perfectly legitimate to study the splendid history of 
achievement of the Church, to know that it is the largest 
Protestant Church in the world; to mark the prominent 
part it has taken in the evangelization of the world, and in 
these things to cultivate a just pride in, and ardent love 
for, and devotion to the Church of your choice. 

To be a member of such a body, with such a history and 
with such worthy aims, should inspire you to walk worth¬ 
ily, to adjust your life in harmony with its rules and reg¬ 
ulations, and to use all laudable ways to promote her insti¬ 
tutions, cooperating cheerfully with all the movements 
looking to her further growth and development. The su- 


What Every Methodist Should Know 101 

preme loyalty to your own Church should inspire you to 
put the services of your Church first in your program; to 
study her doctrines, polity, and institutions, and to 
prefer these to all others; to know something of our current 
literature, to subscribe for and read our Church periodicals 
which keep you abreast with the work and familiar with 
the views of your Church. Our large missionary and Sun¬ 
day school operations should claim your special attention 
and cooperation. Do not join the large class of inactive 
members, but determine in the very outset to be an in¬ 
formed, loyal, active, efficient, useful member of the 
Church. 

By your voluntary membership in this organization, 
whose chief business is to save men, you have made your¬ 
self a party to this work. It is your duty, therefore, to 
bring others to the knowledge of your Saviour and into the 
Church. Keep an account of your work here as you do in 
your business and mark the results of your labor. Be a 
fruitful vine. 

BOOKS ADAPTED FOR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN 

Through England on Horseback. Fitzgerald. 

The Marks of a Man. Speer. 

The Future Leadership of the Church. Mott. 

Peeps into Life. John Mathews. 

Fannie Crosby. Jackson. 

Wesley and His Century. Fitchett. 

The Church and the Crowd. Hogue. 

David Livingstone. 

The Story of Our Bible. Hunting. 

Methodist Armor. Hudson. 

Studies in Methodist History. Culbreth. 

BOOKS FOR ADULTS. 

What and Where is God? Swain. 

The Enlarging Conception of God. Youtz. 

The Epic of the Inner Life. Genung. 

The Culture of Religion. Wilm. 


102 


What Every Methodist Should Know 


The Religion of the Incarnation. Hendrix. 

Sin and Society. Ross. 

The Religious Education of an American Citizen. Pea¬ 
body. 

A Life of St. Paul. 

The Bible and Life. Hughes. 

A Man and His Money. Calkins. 

The Science of Power. Kidd. 

Personal Salvation. Tillett. 

Great Revivals and the Great Republic. Candler. 

The Church and Its Sacraments. Chappell. 

Questions on Chapter XIII 

1. What does Methodism teach about the Bible? 

2. In a literary sense, what is the Bible? 

3. What suggestions does our lesson offer for Bible study? 

4. State some of the reasons why there should be family 
worship? 

5. What does our lesson teach of the meaning, value, and 
need of Church loyalty? 

6. Name some of the books our lesson suggests (1) for 
young people, (2) for older persons. 

















































































































































































* 


X 




LIBRARY of congress 




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